Can I Be You: Original Draft
by JKSketchy
Summary: Please read the new one. Born from Him's blood, the Rowdyruffs are struck with the uncontrollable urge to destroy the Powerpuffs. But as it turns out, Mojo is a lousy parent. Can the Rowdyruffs go to the Powerpuffs for help even after nearly killing them?
1. Chapter 1: Creation

**Author's Note: In this story, the Rowdy Ruff Boys and the Power Puff Girls are meant to be about 15-17. Also, I changed ****the**** ingredients for the Rowdy Ruff Boys a little. The one I used was a mixture of the Japanese, **_**Power Puff Girls Z,**_** the American version, and some of my personal ideas. Oh, and last but not least, I don't own Power Puff Girls in any way. Now, on with the story!**

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_They say that the first are the worst and the second are the best…_

_Do you think so?_

…

Bubbles burst on the surface of a sinister mixture, fumes rising from their cores and out of the pot, tinting the air with a sickly light green smoke and toxic smell. The cauldron boiled as the ingredients were added one by one. First came a single hair clip, pink with a cherry heart in the center and a few strands of red hair still attached to the pin. Next was a bright sky blue ponytail holder with some blonde curls caught around the rubber elastic. Then a dark lock of hair was thrown into the concoction. A single bead of crimson blood, and the stage was set.

The last ingredient, three drops of Chemical X, was added to the solution, and three new beings sparked to life.

A thick cloud of smog gushed from the pot, flooding the floor and blocking the lights from above. The gases stained the air, making vision impossible and breathing difficult. Coughs and rasping sounds came from within the haze.

Inside the clouds of toxic gas was a boy. He wore a burgundy sweatshirt with a solitary black line that ran horizontally across the center. His pants and shoes were a striking black as well, all except for the white of his shoe laces. On his head was a baseball cap that matched his shirt. He wore it backwards and a few locks of hair stuck out the hole above his forehead. A long, red ponytail protruded out below the rim of his hat behind his head.

The boy was kneeling, one foot planted firmly on the ground and his elbow propped up atop his knee. He choked into the clenched fist which he held to his mouth. The fog stung his eyes and burned his throat. He cupped his hand around his mouth, attempting to make breathing less of a hassle, as he squinted ahead into the fog with crimson eyes.

He raised a hand to his forehead and groaned. He felt dizzy, perhaps from the fumes surrounding him. He wobbled a little as he struggled to stand, finding his balance to be far from accurate, and caressed his forehead in an effort to cease the throbbing. His limbs felt too light, as if he were not moving them at all. Everything felt so surreal, like a dream.

He looked up from the dense smoke to see a short, black primate standing in front of him. A white helmet with purple stripes and a metal band sat atop his head. There was an indigo cape tied around his neck and a cobalt vest that covered him from his shoulders to knees. He wore white boots, gloves, and a matching belt that stuck out from the rest of his attire. As he examined the monkey more closely, he noticed the creature lacked black fur on his face; instead his skin was light green, as were his pointy ears. He grinned at the boy with a full set of jagged teeth.

The boy swayed slightly as he stepped forward towards the primate and out of the smoke. He still held his forehead as he glared down at the monkey.

"Ah, my child," the monkey sighed happily as he placed a hand on the boy's arm.

The boy grimaced as he looked down at the monkey's glove. "Hey, hands off!" he grumbled as he swatted the paw away.

But he primate merely smiled again with a chuckle and motioning back into the fog, "Why don't you go meet your brothers?"

"Brothers?" he turned to his right to see a dark figure making its way out of the smoke. Once the smog started to clear he could see that it was another boy, much like himself. They wore similar outfits; exactly the same except for this boy wore a navy blue sweater instead of a scarlet one. He wore no hat, and his hair was blonde and much shorter, yet still longer than average. His bangs stuck out at the side and brushed against his ears. The new boy was bent over, coughing violently into both his hands. After a moment, the boy dressed in blue looked up at him with weary, bright cerulean eyes. Then his gaze settled in front of them on the well-dressed primate.

He coughed into his palm a few more times. "A monkey?" he managed to choke out.

"Why, yes, my children," the monkey smiled at them.

There was another gasping sound coming from the fog and this time both boys turned to look. Another boy staggered out of the gas with his arm around his face, coughing into his elbow as he stepped closer. Again, his outfit matched the other boys' except for the color, which was a dark emerald. His black, spiky hair stuck out in multiple directions, but stayed clear of his eyes. He glared ahead at the primate with eyes similar to stones of jade.

"I ain't related to no talkin' monkey," he coughed. All three boys turned to glare at the monkey standing proudly in front of them.

He chuckled, "Well, children..."

"And we aint 'children'!" the green boy yelled. The red boy exchanged a glance with him and the green boy fell silent. The boy in red nodded to the monkey. "You were saying?"

The monkey cleared his throat, "Yes, well, you see, the Powerpuff Girls are so very annoying. They foil my plans every single time. So I thought, 'how can I beat them?' And I thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and-"

"Would you just get to the point already!" the boy dressed in green yelled again.

"Yeah," the red one agreed, "And what's with all this junk about the 'Powderpuff Girls'?"

The monkey paced up and down the room as the boys watched him babble. "Yes, they are my arch enemies. I, Mojo Jojo, come up with the most ingenious plans to take over the world and they ruin them every time! I needed a way to get them rid of them! And so, after much thought and consideration, I decided to fight fire with fire. So I, Mojo Jojo, decided to make my own tougher, stronger version of the Powerpuff Girls!" He threw his arms up in the air with too much enthusiasm and pointed at the boys. "You."

The blonde boy dressed in blue stepped over to the one in green and whispered in his ear, "I think there's something wrong with this monkey."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no kidding," he groaned back.

Then the red boy turned back to the monkey in front of them. "Okay, Pops, so how exactly did you 'make' us?"

"Well, first I tried throwing some snips of hair, dead snails, and a puppy dog's tail in a rotting toilet in the Townsville jail, but it all just blew up in my face. So then, I retried the experiment, but this time I used Powerpuff DNA, along with a drop of Him's blood, and the extra dose of Chemical X and judging from the results, I'd say it worked out much better."

All three boys looked like they would pass out. The blue one was gagging into his hands again, but it wasn't from the smoke. The green boy's eyes were twitching, his mouth curled into an uneven grimace. The red boy just stared at the monkey with his mouth half open and his tongue sticking out, "What would make you think you could make _people_ out of that?" It was the dumbest thing he had ever heard of.

The monkey just shrugged, "I don't know. Professor Utonium made little girls out of sugar, spice and everything nice, so I figured, 'why not?'."

The red boy smacked his forehead with his palm, "You are the dumbest talking monkey I have ever met!"

The blue one looked over at him. "Well, he's the _only_ talking monkey _I've_ ever met…"

The green boy turned to the red one too. "So you made us just so we could go beat up some girls for ya?" All three boys turned to look at the monkey again.

"Right, exactly right," the monkey smiled evilly and the boy in red raised an eyebrow.

The redhead folded his arms across his chest, "Sorry, dude, but the Rowdyruff Boys aren't about to go beat up a bunch of girls just 'cause a talking monkey told us to."

"The what?" the monkey asked, confused.

The red boy placed his palm on his head and adjusted his cap, "We're the Rowdyruff Boys."

The blue boy stepped forward. "Boomer."

"Brick," the red boy's eyes glinted.

The green boy punched the palm of his hand with his fist, "Butch."

"Well, why not?" he whined.

"What makes you think we would?" the boy dressed in red, Brick, challenged. He grabbed Mojo by his cape ties and held him up above the ground. Mojo didn't seem surprised.

"Well, I don't know, maybe because of," Mojo reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote control, "THIS!"

The remote had four buttons on it: three lined up in a row: red, blue, and green, then a single, larger black button beneath the three. It had a small antenna on top, jet black to match the box itself.

Brick chuckled, "Yeah, what's that gonna do pops?"

Mojo smirked and pressed the red button.

"AAAHHHHHHH!"

Immediately Brick released his grip on Mojo's cape and fell to his knees, his eyes shut tight. Pain coursed through his entire body. It felt as though he was being electrocuted, sparks jumping through his veins. He dug his fingers into the floor, squeezing the tiles until they smashed. He could hear his brothers' distant calls, but he couldn't get up.

"Hey, lay off, ya stupid monkey!"

He forced his eyes open to see Butch charging at Mojo, ready to ram him into the wall, his emerald streak trailing behind him. Even though it would only take Butch a split second to reach Mojo, he didn't quite make it. Brick heard his brother cry as he fell to the floor, just a few feet short of his mark. Brick squinted up to see Mojo standing above them, holding down both their buttons.

"Guys!" Boomer yelled. He raced up to them just as Butch had, and met the same fate, screeching to a halt on the floor. Brick glanced over to see Boomer's cobalt streak fade and his brother lying right beside him, sparks flying from his body. Mojo now held all three buttons, and all three boys were on their knees, bowing to him.

"Now then," Mojo began proudly. Brick glared up at him from his place on the floor. "You shall do as I say, will you not?"

Brick glanced from Boomer to Butch, his brothers, writhing in agony. They looked up at him, waiting for his answer. Brick gritted his teeth, the pain was unbearable and he would do anything to make it stop.

"ALRIGHT!" he yelled, and Mojo released the buttons. All three Rowdyruff Boys fell limply to the ground, motionless, recovering from the device. Brick felt the cold flooring against his cheek and it stung. He lifted his head at the sound of a chuckle. Mojo was grinning evilly above him.

"Now, my boys, you have a few Powerpuffs to find."

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2: Encounter

**Thank you for your reviews! ^^ I will try to keep everyone in character, however I have made the Rowdy Ruff Boys a little less troublesome and annoying. I guess they've matured a small amount since they're about 10 years older (give or take). Other than this, I will try my hardest to keep their characteristics intact. Boomer's still the nicest and most caring, Brick's still the leader who thinks things through a small amount, and Butch is still the strongest who is quick to act. Anyway, I just wanted to reassure you guys of that and thanks again for my first two reviews, **_**Bubblycutie**_** and **_**Xviera Siramad! ^^**_

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Brick ran in circles from building to building as Butch did the same and Boomer searched from the skies above them. They had been hunting through the city for hours, but still hadn't found the girls they were looking for.

"Hey, guys!" Boomer called down from atop a nearby building. Brick and Butch turned up to his call. "Why don't you fly with me? It's pretty easy to see all over the city from up here."

Brick shrugged. "Eh, I'd rather run instead. I don't like flying very much." After answering Boomer's question, he darted down the corner, leaving a red streak behind.

Butch chuckled, "Yeah, and it makes ya look girly floating around up there."

By the time Butch had finished his sentence, Brick was back from his run down the street. Boomer floated slowly down to join his brothers.

Brick shook his head. "Still no sign of them," he reported.

Butch's eyebrows knitted together, "How are we even supposed to know what they look like?" he complained.

Boomer landed down next to Butch, "Mojo said we'd know when we saw them."

"I don't get it though," Brick added. "What exactly did he mean by _you'll know when you find them_?"

Boomer just shrugged and Butch's eyes tightened a little. He folded his arms together, "Who does that monkey think he is, anyway?"

Brick laughed without humor. "He probably thinks he's the big monkey with the shock button."

Butch met Brick's gaze, his eyes still hard. "Well, what are we gonna do about it?" Boomer was staring at Brick too, looking for an answer to their problem.

He glanced at both his brothers in confusion. "Why are you asking me?"

"You're the leader, aren't you?" Boomer asked. Butch didn't respond, he just continued to glare at Brick as though he were trying to stare down Mojo himself.

Brick was a little surprised at first to be given the role of leader without any arguments. He'd thought Butch would've wanted to be in charge, but Brick had no complaints. After a moment he managed to come up with a rather basic plan, "We'll take care of it later."

That obviously wasn't going to be good enough for Butch. "When later?" he urged.

Brick smiled. "Tonight. We'll just get the jump on him and take it. How hard can it be to steal from a monkey? Besides, we have super powers, in case you hadn't noticed."

Butch smirked and nodded, seeming satisfied with the idea. Boomer grinned; his brothers were easily reassured.

Brick was glad to see their moods were much lighter, "For now we should work on finding these Powerpuff Girls. Mojo will know something's up if we come back without completing his orders."

Boomer looked down at his feet. "Yeah…"

Brick caught the worry in his voice, as did Butch who raised an eyebrow at his concern, "What's with you?"

"It's just strange," he muttered, trying to defend himself. "I mean, we don't even know these girls and Mojo wants us to... I mean, how much trouble could these girls be, anyway?"

Brick wasn't that surprised by Boomer's notions. He'd given it some thought, too, and he agreed that this whole problem didn't make any sense. It seemed like a lot of trouble for just a few girls.

Butch just shrugged nonchalantly. He unfolded his arms only to refold them together again behind his head. "The monkey's got some sorta reason for having us do this, and besides, they're just girls. Taking them down won't be that hard." He grinned in arrogance.

Boomer looked up at Butch from under his bangs. Butch glanced back at him and his smile faded, "Well yeah, I know. But what I meant was..." Boomer turned to Brick before finishing, "...do you really think we should..." he trailed off.

Butch's gaze shifted over to Brick too before he finished Boomer's sentence for him, "Kill them?"

Once again, they wanted Brick's answer. Boomer looked scared and upset; Mojo's assignment was really troubling him. He just didn't seem like the fighting type. Butch on the other hand, he could take on the entire A.W.S.M. and think nothing of it, but Brick could see something was on his mind too, no matter how much he had tried to hide it.

As for Brick, he wasn't too sure about Mojo's assignment either. What was the point in slaughtering some poor, defenseless girls? He and his brothers were super-human. Those girls wouldn't stand a chance. The assurance in the Rowdyruff's' victory made him feel… strange. He sighed and looked up to see Boomer glancing at him with worried eyes and Butch staring at the ground.

"For now let's just find them," Brick decided at last. Boomer's concern seemed to ease a little as Butch looked up to the sound of the order.

Brick too began to feel some relief in knowing that was all they could do, "We can't do anything about it if we can't find them. And if we do find them maybe we can get them to tell us why Mojo wants them out of the picture so bad."

Butch and Boomer nodded and the three Rowdyruff brothers split up to search the streets in three separate flashes of color. They raced through lights, glanced in windows, and swerved around skyscrapers one by one. Brick continued to race down the street. He looked up at the sky to see that the sun was starting to set. After a few more blocks, he stopped in his tracks. Out of the corners of his eyes he could see streaks of blue and green on either side of him, and a split second later his brothers stood behind him.

"This isn't working," Boomer muttered. He was talking to Brick's back.

"Yeah," Butch agreed. "We've searched the whole city, three times over and still haven't found anything."

Brick looked at the ground. He opened his mouth to say something...

"Hey!"

...but the voice that reached the Rowdyruff Boys did not belong to him.

Brick's eyes widened and he looked up. Hovering about twenty feet in the sky in front of them were three girls. They each had bright streaks behind them, but they were much lighter than his and his brothers': bright pink, baby blue, and lime green. The girls were each wearing clothing that matched their colors as well, and each of their dresses bore a thick black line around the center, just like the Rowdyruff sweaters.

On the far left, a girl wearing a sky blue dress stared innocently down at the boys with bright, sapphire eyes. Her golden blonde hair was tied back into short ponytails at either side of her head. Next to her was a redhead dressed in pink. Her long hair flowed down behind her and a big, red bow sat atop her head. She glared down at them with rosy pink eyes. The girl wearing green floated next to her and had striking black hair that was cut short and stuck up at the ends. She glowered down at them harshly with bright, light green eyes.

These girls, whoever they were, they were _exactly_ like him and his brothers.

The three Rowdyruffs just stared dumbstruck, wide eyed and speechless.

The girls floated down and landed a few feet in front of the boys. The pink girl in the center spoke again, her arms folded across her chest, "Who are you?"

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3: Influence

**Hello again! First, I'd like to thank you for all your wonderful reviews! ^^ I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far. And second… well, there is no second. On with the story!**

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For a single, long, painful second, the Rowdyruff Boys stared at the girls who had just landed in front of them. For one second, everything was silent.

Brick shuddered. As he stared at the girl before him, the redhead dressed in pink, his entire body reacted. His muscles tensed, his pulse raced. His hands balled up into fists at his sides, and after that one peaceful second, his conscience, his sanity, faded away. He glared at the girl with dark, hate-filled eyes. He didn't know why, but he wanted to kill her, and it wasn't because of Mojo's order.

He wanted her dead. And he wanted to be the one to do it.

He shot towards the girl in a brilliant streak of red light and rammed into her, slamming her into the ground. Dust and dirt filled the air and once it cleared, she was nowhere to be found. Brick looked around frantically until he found her floating above him.

As soon as he realized where she was, he sprang at her again. This time, she dodged out of the way and Brick flew a few yards past her before circling around and coming back again, but this time instead of just merely bounding into her he tried to punch her in the head. When Brick threw his fist at her, she did the last thing he would've expected. She didn't cry, she didn't fall, and she didn't run away. She didn't even get hit. She just brought her arm up and knocked it into his, causing him to miss his mark.

She blocked him. She blocked him perfectly.

Brick swung at the girl again and again, but every time she matched his move without fault. They continued for some time, Brick constantly throwing punches at the pink girl and always missing. As he fought her, he felt no pain. The girl used a great amount of strength to push his arms away before his fists reached her and he should have had plenty of bruises by then, but he did he didn't notice. He could vaguely hear the sound of a voice as her lips moved, but he was too far gone, too engulfed in his hatred, to make out what she was saying. Everything felt so unreal, like he was dreaming, like he wasn't really there, and his body was moving of its own accord as he watched from the sidelines. He knew exactly what he was doing, but he wasn't able to think through anything clearly enough. He wasn't really thinking at all.

He was just fighting.

He continued to swing at the girl mindlessly, who at this point was beginning to appear overwhelmed by his attack. Then he attempted something he hadn't yet; he swung his foot around and struck her leg, causing her to fall back, but not quite down. Before she had a chance to recover from the kick, Brick tried to slam her into the ground one more time.

And he succeeded.

Once again, a cloud of dirt filled the air around them and Brick rose from his place on the ground. He glanced down and grinned wickedly at the girl as she lied in a mound of dirt, unconscious. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open, hair sticking out from her ruby bow.

He smiled wider. She wouldn't be able to block him now. He knelt down next to her, raised his arm, and swung down harder than any punch he'd thrown yet.

And stopped in mid swing.

He gritted his teeth together and swung again, and yet again his fist stopped before reaching its mark. He stared wide eyed down at the girl, she was already badly injured. If he could just get in one good punch to the head, she might never get up.

He tried over and over again, but each time his arm slowed and halted just before his knuckle met her forehead. This urge to kill was more than he could take, and it would be gone if he could only make contact with her head. He groaned in frustration and rose from his seat next to the girl. He glared down at her fiercely, his scarlet eyes glowing.

"ARGH! Why can't I do it?"

Brick looked up to the sound of Butch's voice. He was standing in front of the girl dressed in green that was out cold and slumped against the side of a building. Her hair was messed up and her dress was starting to tear at the edges. Butch's arm was raised above her just as Brick's had been, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch her either.

Brick's reasoning started to return the more he challenged the situation, and the less his attention returned to the pink girl beside him. He hadn't noticed Butch fighting with the other girl during his own struggle. He'd been concentrating so hard on the redhead he hadn't realized his brother had been battling too.

Once he considered this, Brick began looking around for Boomer. After a while his gaze rested on his blue brother who was lying in the dirt next to the blonde in blue. She was knocked out too and her pigtails were coming undone. Boomer rested on his side next to her. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he pressed his fist against the ground, his eyes clouded and dark.

"Boomer!" Brick called to his brother. Boomer looked up at the sound of his name. "Is she alive?"

Boomer nodded before standing up. "I...I don't know what happened," he muttered.

"So you guys felt it too, didn't you?" Brick asked, looking from one brother to the other. "You _wanted_ to kill them."

"Yeah, but it was messed up. I wasn't thinking at all," Butch replied angrily.

Boomer nodded in agreement. He was holding his arm and his eyes still watered.

"Oh, quit being such a baby Boomer," Butch griped. "We did what Mojo wanted, didn't we?"

"No," Brick interrupted, "I know the one I was fighting is still alive."

Boomer nodded. "Yeah, she's not dead either. I still feel that urge to kill her, but I...I-I don't wanna fight anymore..."

Brick thought for a moment about the situation. He still didn't feel entirely coherent, as though he was still asleep, but that deep feeling of hatred still burned strongly within him. He glanced over at Butch who was glaring defiantly at the black haired girl he'd just beaten up.

"Butch," he called. Butch raised his head when Brick beckoned to him. Brick gestured with his head to the blonde lying on the other side of him. "Try and finish off Boomer's girl."

Butch glanced over to the girl Brick had referred to, then to Brick again, "Sure, if Boomer doesn't mind."

Brick and Butch turned to Boomer. He shook his head. "It's fine..." Butch smirked.

"Alright then."

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more!**


	4. Chapter 4: Enlighten

**Hello, sorry I didn't update for a while. Anyway, special thanks to my friend, Kaitlyn, who helped me edit my story! ^^ Also, I'm planning on drawing pictures for different sections of the story. I'll have the first one finished soon… hopefully. Anyway, story time!**

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"Are you ready yet?" Brick yelled to Butch, his arms folded across his chest.

"Don't rush me!" Butch took another step back before crouching into a runner's starting position, his one leg up and his finger tips touching the ground on either side of him. He eyed his mark and took off in a flash of green light. Brick turned as Butch whipped passed his face, his hair blew with the wind from his brother's bound. Butch raced to where the girl in the blue dress lied and when he met her spot, an explosion of green and blue light erupted from the site.

The air was once again filled with dirt, making sight close to impossible. Brick walked over to where he thought Butch had struck the girl. He searched aimlessly until he heard his brother yell.

"Dude! What's wrong with you?"

Brick stumbled through the dust, eventually spotting the fading glow of his brothers' streaks. As the smoke cleared, he glimpsed Butch lying on his back a few feet from him. He was propped up on his elbows and faced the direction he had been running in. Brick looked where Butch had been glaring to see Boomer standing in front of the blue girl, arms crossed, forming a shield over his face. His cerulean eyes blazed with anger, then faded to confusion when he realized what he had done. He blinked with misunderstanding a few times and turned around to see the blond girl lying behind him.

"Boomer!" Brick yelled and Boomer's head shot forward, "What was that for!"

Boomer rubbed his arm shyly, "I… I don't know. I didn't mean to… I… it just happened…" He glanced back at the girl he'd just protected, then his eyes fell to the ground in front of him, "And the feeling's still there..."

Brick exchanged a look with Butch, and then he turned back to where the girl he had fought with was lying. The urge to attack her again was strengthening, and he was still far from coherent. It was still as though he was dreaming, but during the fight it was as if someone else chose his actions and he had merely watched on the sidelines. Brick turned back to Boomer and nodded, "Come on, let's just go."

Butch rose from his seat on the ground, "But what are we gonna tell Mojo?" Boomer looked up at the sound of his brother's question.

Brick ducked his head as he walked by Boomer, who was eyeing him with concern and turned his head as Brick passed, keeping his eyes on his face, "That depends…"

Butch raised an eyebrow in confusion, "On what?"

Brick smirked, "On what _he _tells _us_. I don't know about you guys, but I've got a few questions for that talking monkey. He's the one who sent us after those girls. He must've known we'd attack them the way we did."

Both Butch and Boomer's eyes widened. Brick guessed they'd forgotten about the assignment in the chaos of their battles.

Butch's eyes tightened, "That monkey's got a lotta explaining to do!"

Brick rushed off in a blaze of crimson light, followed Butch's emerald flash and Boomer's sapphire streak. They darted through the city once again, swerving around buildings and dodging citizens as they ran. The farther they ran, the more aware they became. The world began to feel less and less surreal. Their ability to reason returned and their control resurfaced.

Barely a second later they were standing at Mojo's door atop his volcano. Butch didn't bother to knock; he just balled his hand up into a fist and shrouded it in a jade light. Sparks flew from his hand and he threw a punch at the entrance. On contact, the door burst from its hinges and fell to the ground.

Brick stepped into the doorway, "MOJO!"

Mojo walked into the foyer after hearing the noise, "What the!" He stared at the door on the floor, and then glared coldly at his visitors. He walked towards them as he spoke, waving his index finger in the air. "How dare you bust down my door! This is my house! As to say, this is _my _property, meaning that it is not yours to break. I had that door specially imported from Hong-Kong. It's 100% titanium steel and finished with a silver coating. That is my—"

"Shut up!" Butch yelled.

Surprisingly, Mojo stopped talking and looked up in shock. Brick glowered down at him. He grabbed Mojo by his vest collar and pulled him up so they were at eye level, "Talk!"

Mojo glared at him, "That makes no sense! First you tell me to 'shut up', now you tell me to talk. That is not possible as talking creates noise, which goes against your original request to shut up, and thus-"

"Not about that ya stupid monkey!" Brick threw Mojo to the ground. "Who are the Powerpuff Girls?"

Mojo sat up and continued to glare at Brick, "You mean you didn't find them!"

"No, we found them!" Butch protested.

Brick's glare tightened, "And why did they look like us?"

Mojo stood and brushed himself off before shrugging as he turned to leave, ignoring Brick's question, "Then it doesn't matter who they were. They have been mutilated, hence forth eliminated, as in dead."

"But they're not dead!" Butch groaned.

Mojo stopped in his tracks and peered back at the boys over his shoulder, "What do you mean they're not dead?"

Brick folded his arms together, "How many things could 'They're not dead' possibly mean! And here I thought you were the captain of the literal brigade."

"But if you did indeed meet with them, then they should no longer be living!" Mojo insisted.

Boomer pushed his way around Brick, "So you knew we'd act that way!"

Mojo raised an eyebrow, "Act what way?"

"Attack them instantly," Brick insisted.

Mojo nodded, "Yes, I did. But why are they still alive!"

Butch's fists tightened, "Cause we couldn't finish them off…"

"They defeated you!" Mojo accused.

Butch's eyes flared, "No!"

Mojo eyed Brick and Boomer suspiciously, "Then what happened?"

All three brothers exchanged a look of concern. Boomer's wide eyes were filled with worry while Butch's hard gaze expressed defeat. Brick turned back to Mojo, "First, you've got a few things to tell us."

Mojo glared defiantly at the boys, "What?"

"Everything," he specified.

Mojo groaned, "All right, come with me." Mojo turned back to the door he had come through and the Rowdyruff Boys followed behind him. As they passed through the doorway, the boys turned to a gigantic supercomputer. Dozens of screens of many different sizes connected together above a panel of buttons, knobs, switches and levers to make up the central mainframe. Mojo walked up to the processor and fiddled with the gadgets until the pictures on every screen formed together to create three images: the girls the Rowdyruff boys had run into earlier.

Mojo stepped up to the first screen and tapped the foot of the girl in the blue dress, "This is Bubbles. She is the most gentle of the three. However, if you push her too hard, she can become aggressive. She is the only Powerpuff Girl who can speak Spanish, along with talking to animals. Boomer," Mojo paused briefly to turn to the blue Rowdyruff boy, "You were produced from her ponytail holder."

Butch giggled before being called out by Mojo, "Butch!" He stopped laughing and gave Mojo his full attention. Mojo walked over to the other end of the line of screens to point at the girl in green. "This is Buttercup. She is the strongest of the three. She has no unique power like Bubbles; nevertheless, she can be overly brutal and aggressive. Butch, you were made from a lock of her hair."

Butch rubbed his head in thought as he stared at the screen. Brick turned to see Boomer doing the same, but with a more innocent expression then Butch's glowering.

"Brick."

Brick looked forward to see Mojo standing below the last girl; the pink girl he had attacked.

"This is Blossom," Mojo informed. "She is the leader of the Powerpuff Girls. She enjoys learning to a great extent, which makes her the most intelligent of the girls. She is clever, and quick-witted, and constantly foils my plains. Brick, you were created from one of her hair clips." Brick reached back and grabbed his ponytail.

All three boys gazed intently at the monitors, filled with thought. "So, any more questions?" Mojo asked in annoyance.

Brick broke from his reverie and looked down at Mojo, "Why would we kill them if we were created from them?"

Mojo sigh, "Because each of you were given a dose of Him's blood before you were created."

Butch raised an eyebrow, "Who's him?"

Mojo turned back to the controls and brought up a picture of a red creature wearing a winter coat with pink fur around the collar and edges, and a black belt clipped around the center. He possessed claws instead of hands and pointed ears similar to an elf. He had boots that reached up to where his coat ended. He had a small, curly beard forming at the tip of his pointed chin. His hair was cut short and makeup covered his face.

"Who's that?" Butch asked, disgusted.

Mojo gestured to the computer screen, "That's Him."

"But who's him?" Brick asked.

"Him's him!" Mojo insisted.

Boomer raised an eyebrow, "Who's 'Himhim'?"

Mojo gritted his teeth, "Enough! This, this monster right here, this is Him. Not to say he is the person I am speaking of, as in his name is Him, which is what he is known by. Him: capital 'H', 'I', 'M'."

"Wait, so we were created from Powerpuff hair and… 'Him's' blood?" Brick clarified.

"Yes," Mojo sighed.

Each Rowdyruff made a face of repulsion. Boomer's nose wrinkled and Butch stuck out his tongue. "Why would you make us out of blood and hair?" Butch asked sarcastically.

"Well, I tried my blood originally, being that I am the most evil being ever to exist, but instead I ended up creating monkeys, so I turned to the next evilest creature I could think of," he answered.

Boomer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "But that still doesn't explain why we unconsciously attacked the Powerpuff Girls."

Mojo rubbed his chin, "Well, Him's blood can be considered unstable, meaning that the side effects of using it are uncertain. However, being an embodiment of evil, when his DNA was mixed with the Powerpuff Girls, pure-hearted little girls, it must have embedded a man-made instinct in your brains.

"Him's blood can cause abnormal reactions in monsters and people. Him once attempted to defeat the Powerpuff Girls by turning their loved ones against them, which was caused by a combination of mind control and the implantation of DNA. You see, if he had merely taken over their minds, then he would have had to control each of their movements on his own, which he was unwilling to do, and so he placed minute amounts of DNA within them, causing them to act evilly towards the Powerpuff Girls without Him needing to control each and every action, which wore off after the Powerpuffs defeated him. When Him is weakened enough, his implantations become destabilized and are destroyed when he is beaten to a state of unconsciousness.

"Being that Him despises the Powerpuff Girls just as much as I do, and because you also contain DNA from the Powerpuff Girls, I theorized that you would instinctively attack the girls. Their hair samples linked with Him's blood in a way that resulted in a unique identification device. When you encountered them, Him's blood must have taken over and caused you to attack them without thinking."

Boomer still wasn't satisfied with Mojo's answer, "But why did-"

Brick stopped Boomer from asking his question by nudging him in the side with his elbow. Brick didn't want to see Boomer get shocked again for protecting Bubbles, even if he didn't know why.

Mojo glared suspiciously at Brick and Boomer, "Why did you what?" he insisted.

"Why couldn't we finish them off?" Butch finished. Brick was relieved to hear Butch ask a different question, one that wouldn't result in only Boomer's punishment.

"What do you mean by 'you couldn't finish them off'?" Mojo questioned.

Brick decided to answer this one, "He means, once the Powerpuff Girls were defenseless, no matter how many attacks we threw, we were incapable of hitting them."

"Yeah," Boomer agreed, "Every punch we threw stopped short."

Mojo rubbed his chin and paced up and down the room in deep thought. _Great, not this again _Brick thought to himself. Eventually, Mojo began speaking again, "Well, seeing as how you were also created from the girls DNA, and being that they embody all that is good, it probably caused you to stop. It's most likely a side effect from not adding enough of Him's blood. His DNA would have been able to counter act the Powerpuff Girls if I had added just a bit more..."

The boys glanced at each other for a moment before Mojo spoke again.

"Now then, you boys should be getting off to bed," Mojo insisted.

"…Bed?" Butch questioned.

"Yes, follow me," Mojo walked past the boys and through another doorway on the other side of the corridor. They followed behind him into the next room, which was relatively smaller than the last. In front of them were three containment chambers. They turned to see Mojo standing next to a control panel next to the door.

"What are those for?" Boomer asked.

"These are where you will be sleeping," Mojo answered.

Brick glanced at the capsules, and then raised an eyebrow at Mojo, "You've got to be kidding," he insisted.

"What?" Mojo asked, confused.

"You don't expect us to sleep in there! We're not zoo animals!" Butch practically screamed.

"Watch your language young man!" Mojo scolded lightly, waving a finger at Butch as all three Rowdyruffs looked at each other with uncertainty.

Mojo smiled. "Now," The boys turned back to Mojo, "It's time for bed!" he pressed one of the buttons on the control pad and all three boys were zapped by lasers that appeared out of the wall behind them, knocking them into the chambers. Glass lids slid shut in front of them and Brick turned back to Mojo, "What's the big idea!"

Mojo walked proudly to stand before Brick's prison, "I once used this to hold the Powerpuff Girls hostage, but they escaped due to that stupid Professor Utonium."

Brick glared at Mojo fiercely until his eyes began to glow and lasers shot out at the glass wall separating them.

"I have made some adjustments since then. Now the cells are blocked off by glass walls that have been embedded with minimal traces of Antidote X, causing your powers to become useless," Mojo added.

Brick pretended not to hear him; he just continued to futilely blast the lid of the chamber. He could hear his brothers' crashing sounds as they batted the walls in their cages.

Brick ceased blasting for a moment to see Mojo leaving the room. He heard Butch yell next to him, "Hey! Get back here!", but Mojo continued until he was out of sight.

The boys tried everything they could think of to get out of their prisons: punches, kicks, lasers, blasts, sonic sounds, power spheres, everything in their arson of power, but their attacks made no difference. The glass refused to break.

Brick slumped against the back wall of his cell, defeated. He looked to his left and used his x-ray vision to see into Boomer's cell to see him curled in the corner, holding his knees. Tears fell slowly down his cheeks.

"Hey, Boomer…" Brick murmured. Boomer looked up towards his brother with curious eyes. "How you doing?" Brick asked.

Boomer just nodded and placed his head on his knees. Brick felt his cage shake as Butch rammed the door again.

"Would ya give it a rest Butch?" Brick asked with half interest.

Butch didn't answer; he just gritted his teeth before pounding into the lid again, then sliding to the cold, metal floor.

Brick turned back to Boomer, "Why ya crying Boomer?"

Boomer shrugged and turned his head away from Brick, "I… I'm afraid. I don't wanna lose control again." Boomer looked back at Brick, "I mean, are we sure we're even doing the right thing? Why would Mojo want us to kill the Powerpuff Girls?"

Butch smirked without humor, "Cause Blossom outsmarts him all the time."

Boomer sighed, "But those girls we fought today… they were just like us. We were even created from them."

"Yeah…" Butch muttered. "What should we do?" he turned to Brick.

Brick shrugged, "What can we do? We'll probably just lose it again if we see the Powerpuff Girls, and if we don't do whatever Mojo wants then he'll shock us…"

"But I thought we were gonna steal his shock remote," Boomer added.

Butch glared at him, "Well, we can't exactly do that from inside cages now can we!"

Brick sighed, "Just go to sleep guys! We'll figure something out tomorrow"

Boomer lied down on the bottom of his cell and fell asleep relatively quickly despite the freezing floor. Butch just leaned against the side of his prison and shut his eyes tightly. Brick did the same. Before slipping away into dream land, he thought back to his fight with Blossom. She'd fought better than he'd expected, but then again he hadn't originally expected to be fighting super powered girls. Did she know Mojo had made them from her and her sister's DNA?

Brick's gaze was set absentmindedly in front of him, his eyelids half open. He imagined Blossom's picture that Mojo had displayed on the monitors earlier. Who was she? If they shared DNA, did that mean they acted the same? She fought as well as he did, she'd matched his moves without fault until Brick had let himself fall deeper into the control of Him's blood.

He sighed and shook his head. He wanted to be able to go ask the Powerpuff Girls about everything. They might even have an answer for some of the Rowdyruff Boy's problems. Then an idea sparked in his head. Mojo had cussed about Blossom foiling his plans over and over again, so maybe the Powerpuff Girls would be able to help him and his brothers escape from Mojo.

Brick nodded to himself before drifting off into unconsciousness. Tomorrow, the Rowdyruffs were going to have another encounter with the Powerpuff Girls.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	5. Chapter 5: Struggle

**Sorry it's been so long since my last chapter. I'll try to write more often, I just haven't gotten too lately. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! ^^**

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Brick began to stir as the glass door to his capsule slid aside. His eyes opened slowly and unwillingly to see the dark silhouette of a certain talking monkey standing next to the control panel by the door. Brick pushed himself up with his hands against the wall behind him. His eyes widened as he caught Butch's green flare out of the corner of his eye.

"Butch…" Boomer muttered as he stumbled out of his cell. They watched wide eyed as their brother made a beeline for Mojo only to fall over, skidding to a halt on his side. He gritted his teeth and shivered as sparks flew from his body.

Brick's gaze grew cold and malice. He turned to Mojo who was smiling widely, his thumb pressed against the green button on his remote. Brick's anger burned and his eyes glowed until lasers shot out at Mojo's remote.

"Yow!" Mojo shrieked as the remote fell away from his grip. He turned in shock at the remote as it landed a few yards behind him. He turned to run for it.

"Boomer!" Brick called. In an instant, a shot of blue light flew past Mojo and snatched up the device. Mojo turned back to Brick with wide eyes and Boomer returned to his brother's side, remote in hand.

Brick marched up to Mojo and grabbed him by his collar, "Now Mojo," he smiled wickedly, "what do you plan to do without your little shocker?"

Boomer walked over to Butch who was still lying on the ground, "Butch? You okay?"

Brick glanced over to Butch, waiting for a response to Boomer's question. He didn't answer at first; he just tightened his jaw and squinted up at Boomer. After a moment, he ceased gritting his teeth to yell at him, "Do I look alright!" Sparks flew as he yelled.

Boomer looked back up at Brick and Brick's eyes widened. He turned to Mojo, who was grinning widely, his pointed teeth gleamed.

Then Brick felt the pain. He released Mojo and fell to the floor. Electric shocks coarse through him just as they had when he was first created. He balled his hands up into fists, squeezing his fingers tightly.

"Brick!" Boomer cried, but to Brick his yell was faint.

He could barely hear Mojo's chuckling despite the fact that he was right in front of him. Brick peered up at him through narrowed eyes to see Mojo pull a second remote out from behind his back, red and green buttons down.

"How many of those things do you have!" he yelled.

Mojo smiled down at Brick, "More than you three can steal. Now," Mojo released the red and green buttons. Brick and Butch both gasped and fell limp onto the floor, "I have another job for you."

"What is it this time?" Butch complained. He had somehow managed to prop himself up on him elbow. Brick was still recovering from the electrocution.

"You three will simply do whatever you can to prepare for your next battle with the Powerpuffs. You can ask around town, you can follow them, you can fight with them now if you feel you need the practice, whatever you want."

Brick struggled to fall back on his knees so he would be able to look at Mojo. His eyebrows knitted together, "You're not ordering us to kill them again?"

Mojo shrugged, "Well, seeing as how you were unable to under the complete influence of Him's blood, I came up with another invention to use against the girls. Once it's complete, you shouldn't have any problems finishing them off. However, it would make things much easier if you could defeat them today. Now, go off and fight them! Remember, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" Mojo encouraged cheerfully.

Butch smirked, "Geez, do you do this every day?"

Mojo just stared at the Rowdyruff Boys with a blank expression, "There's nothing else to do in Townsville."

Brick groaned internally. This monkey has some serious issues. He rose from his seat on the floor, as did Butch, and the trio stepped past Mojo and out the door. When they reached the doorstep, Brick and Butch simply jumped down and Boomer floated down the volcano behind them.

Brick landed soundlessly, and then Butch pounded a mini crater into the ground after him, "So where do you think we should look for the girls?" Boomer landed next to them.

"Well, first off, I think we should try not to beat them up this time…" Brick proposed.

Boomer smiled and Butch raised an eyebrow, "Okay… why?"

Brick folded his arms together, "Well, I figured since Mojo was complaining so much about the Powerpuff Girls always stopping his plans, maybe they could help us escape from him."

Boomer cocked his head to one side, "Couldn't we just leave now?"

Brick shook his head, "Not while Mojo has that remote. He would probably just shock us until we came back."

Butch nodded in agreement, "But how are we supposed to just talk to them?"

"Yeah," Boomer added, "After yesterday I don't know if they'll want to help us and we might end up attacking them right away again…"

Brick's eyes narrowed and he shrugged, "We'll just have to try our best to hold back this time."

For the first time, both Butch and Boomer looked more concerned after Brick had given the order, but Brick couldn't blame them; he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop himself from attacking Blossom again either, but they had to try anyway. Brick groaned internally when he realized he sounded like Mojo. He just shook his head and tried to forget about it, "Anyway, let's go find the girls."

"But _how_ are we going to find them? We didn't even find them yesterday, they found us," Butch reminded.

"We could fly…" Boomer suggested.

"Humph, and look like a sissy? No thanks. Besides, you couldn't find them the first time flying either," Butch scoffed.

There was a huge crash and smoke rose in the distance. The Rowdyruff Boys turned to the sound to see a monster rampaging through the town. Butch raised an eyebrow, "This is one strange town…" Boomer nodded.

Brick stared at the monster for a moment longer until an idea sparked in his head, "I've got it!"

Butch and Boomer turned to their leader. "Got what?" Boomer asked.

Brick looked back at his brothers and smiled, "If the Powerpuff Girls always try to stop Mojo from taking over the town, then they've got to stop that monster from destroying it, right?"

Butch's eyes widened a little and Boomer smiled and nodded. Brick grinned at his brothers' new found enthusiasm, "Let's go!"

Brick and Butch raced towards the giant creature in streaks of crimson and jade light while Boomer flew behind them in a brilliant flash of sapphire. As they closed in on the monster, streaks of pink, sky blue, and light green passed overhead. Brick felt his entire body tense; he squeezed his hands into fists and held them tightly. He shut his eyes and kept his head low as he ran. He peeked over to Butch to see he was faring even worse than he was. Butch was staring right at Buttercup, eyes flaring. Then he looked up to see Boomer, hugging his arms tightly around his torso as he flew, his expression pained. As they neared the girls, Brick began feeling the strain of Him's blood pushing to take control. He could feel his eyes burn and his heart begin to race. He knew he and his brothers wouldn't be able to remain sane, not like this.

"Stop!" He yelled.

They came to a skidding halt. Butch just stood still, his head down and one hand clamped firmly around the opposite arm. Boomer floated down to them, his cerulean eyes blazing, "I don't know if I can take this Brick."

Brick nodded in understanding. Brick felt his arm jerk and looked down to see a red aura forming around it, his fingers taught and arm rising to face the direction the girls had flown off in. He quickly clutched his arm and held it down to his side. He glanced to Butch to see him looking up from under his hair, their poses matching now. The influence of Him's blood was becoming too overwhelming to ignore. Brick glared up at the monster to see the girls soaring around it, throwing one attack after another.

He turned to his brothers, having realized a possible solution, "Boomer, Butch, you think if we flew up there and helped the girls finish off that monster you might be able to keep yourselves sidetracked for a little while? If we're lucky the battle might tire us out a little so we won't attack them right away. And if we help them out, maybe they'll be more willing to help us with Mojo."

Boomer smiled, "Sounds alright to me."

Brick nodded sternly and turned to his other brother, "Butch?"

Butch sighed heavily before answering, "We can try…"

Brick grinned, "Alright, let's go!"

The Rowdyruffs flew off all at once up towards the monster in a rainbow streak of blue, red, and green, taking special care to avoid the Powerpuff Girls. Brick flew around towards the head, blasting the creature with his laser eyes. Boomer flew close to its feet while Butch threw power orbs at its back. Brick smiled, at this rate the fight would end soon.

"Hey!"

Brick's heart stopped and he felt his blood run cold. He glanced hesitantly to his right to see Blossom hovering just a few feet away, blasting the monster. His arms rose to shoulder height and began to glow dark red as they had before they fight. Brick grimaced and fought as hard as he could to stop himself. Blossom opened her mouth again to speak, but the creature sidetracked her for a moment by knocking her away with its claw. Brick's arms continued to rise, seeing Blossom get attacked by another creature made him want to fight even more. He felt himself being drawn to the direction she had been swatted in, but he forced himself back. Him's blood was flowing much too strongly for him, then he turned back to the monster and his eyes glinted.

He had one option left; redirection.

Brick let his urge flow freely and at first he shot towards Blossom. He grew closer and closer, the temptation growing stronger as they neared. Blossom stared wide-eyed as Brick shot towards her, one fist extended outward. Brick shut his eyes tightly, this had to work. He could feel where Blossom hovered as his other power surged. Then, at the last second, he swerved away back towards the monster, narrowly missing Blossom's head. He glanced back to see her stare back in fear and shock. He smirked sinisterly back, proud that he'd beaten the urge to attack her.

Then a pulse ran through him as their eyes met. Brick gritted his teeth tightly, pain and energy coursed through him, causing his blood to boil. He could feel his heart beat, each throb filled with a new gush of poisoned power. The urge to kill her then had just doubled, tripled. Brick shot away just before he could do anything he would regret. He raced as fast as he could at the monster and away from Blossom. He could barely concentrate enough to do anything else. He forced himself to focus all the power of Him's blood on the monster, instead of Blossom. It took everything he had to fly away, each millisecond feeling like hours. Eventually, he reached the creature and struck the beast with all the strength that had built up inside him. He cried out in pain as his power weakened with the blow, the throbbing fading away.

The monster shrunk under his blow, going limp and falling back on one last building in a cloud of smoke. Brick floated slowly down to his brothers who were already standing below him. He landed between them and wobbled slightly. Boomer reached for his arm to hold him steady, "You okay Brick."

Brick grinned widely and Butch punched his back playfully, "Dude, nice shot!"

Brick laughed lightly and smiled again. He was proud he'd been able to handle the urge the second time around and he felt eased and joyful that the effects of Him's blood had vanished after he'd shot down the monster.

Brick felt Boomer go tense at his side and glanced to him to see him staring wide-eyed towards a cloud of smoke in front of them. Brick wasn't sure what had caught his brother's attention until his eyes began to glow.

Brick turned back to the haze of dust as it cleared to reveal the Powerpuff Girls, all three glaring at the boys with suspicious looks. Brick could see his brothers shaking under Him's influence, but he himself didn't feel nearly as eager to attack his counterpart as he had earlier. He smiled widely right at Blossom; he didn't have to worry about temptation, not now anyway. He felt like he might be able to ask for their help without any trouble.

The girls floated over to the Rowdyruff Boys and landed a few feet in front of them. Boomer and Butch darted back a few yards in streaks of blue and green while Brick stood his ground. Even now that Blossom stood just as close as she had been flying next to him during the fight; Him's blood wasn't consuming him this time. He could feel the beginning of temptation building up, but it was nothing compared to what he had just experienced. He continued to grin in the face of his counterpart.

Blossom folded her arms across her chest, "You boys have got a lot of explaining to do."

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	6. Chapter 6: Request

**Thank you all my readers! I decided to make an illustration for the last chapter, so if anyone is interested, you can find it on deviantart. I have a link for it on my lookup. …um I can't think of anything else to say, so… CHAPTER TIME! ^^**

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In the face of Blossom's glaring, Brick could have burst into laughter. He was filled with so much joy having been relieved of his overwhelming power. Brick couldn't help but let a chuckle escape, "Where should I start?"

Blossom's eyes tightened in annoyance, "Who are you three? And why do you look like us?" she specified.

Hearing her voice ring in his ears sent a flicker of temptation through his veins, yet still miniscule in comparison to his earlier pain. However, it was enough to make his smile fade. He glanced back at his brothers standing a ways behind him. Boomer hugged himself tightly as he shivered, not even daring to look up at the girls. Butch's hands were silhouetted with a faint, emerald glow, his eyes clouded. Brick knew he would have to try and explain everything quickly; he wasn't sure how long his brothers would be able to hold on.

Brick turned back to face Blossom, but Butch's counterpart spoke before he could. She held up her fist and punched her opposite palm, "Aw, forget it. Let's just kick their butts!"

Buttercup stood in a fighting stance, ready to race over to his brothers. Bubbles did the same on the opposite side of Blossom, who was glancing back at them with looks of concern and irritation. Brick's pulse sped up; if the girls raced in to attack his brothers he was sure Boomer and Butch would lose control. Even if Blossom didn't join in on the fight, he would never be able to reason with her if her sisters went and got themselves killed.

Buttercup began to streak forward when Brick held up his arm to stop her. He caught Buttercup's arm as she passed and held her still. She whipped around and glared daggers back at him, "Let go of me!"

Brick glowered back at her, "We're not here to fight you."

Buttercup's glare tightened, "Yeah, well too bad! We weren't looking for a fight yesterday but you and your brother's gave us one!"

Brick opened his mouth to protest, but Blossom beat him to it, "Let's let them talk Buttercup."

As glad as he was that Blossom had chosen to hear him out, fear began to rise in his heart. Brick could feel the burning rush of Him's blood boil deep within him. A shiver ran through him as he tightened his grip on his conscience, along with his grip on Buttercup. Once he realized, he immediately let go of the Powerpuff and took a step back, afraid to stand too close to Blossom. He glanced up to meet her eyes and immediately glanced back down at his feet. He needed to draw out as much time as possible in between Blossom's comments; he didn't want to push his luck.

He gritted his teeth as he asked the Powerpuff Girls for a disrespectful favor. "Okay, my name's Brick and behind me are my brothers, Boomer and Butch. I'll try and explain everything as best I can alone, but it would help if you girls would remain silent," he asked, stressing the last few words. Brick kept his gaze away from Blossom's face, eyes on his shoes. He waited for an expected protest, however only silence graced his ears.

Brick breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, we are the Rowdyruff Boys. Mojo created us from strands of your DNA and Him's blood, which is why we look alike. He sent us out yesterday to… find you and we…" he trailed off.

Buttercup interrupted, "Find us! You attacked us!"

Brick bit his lip and glanced back at Butch. He was kneeling on the ground, his fingers digging into the dirt, hands radiating. Shudders ran through his body.

Brick faced forward again, his eyebrows knitted together and his eyes still on the ground, "Remember my request to remain silent?"

Brick peeked up at Buttercup through his bangs to see a look of annoyance on her face, but she did not argue.

Brick continued with his explanation, "We're… sorry. About yesterday," Brick glanced up to meet Bubbles' eyes, "Especially Boomer. He was crying after the fight."

Bubbles brought her hands up to cover her mouth and her gaze rested behind Brick. He resumed his story, "We didn't know who you were. Mojo sent us out to find you with no information at all. He just said we'd know when we found you."

Blossom's eyes knitted together as she opened her mouth to speak. Brick's head shot up to meet her gaze, willing her not to speak; he didn't want his own temper to start flaring either. However, when their eyes linked his blood boiled more than when she had spoken earlier.

Blossom closed her mouth slightly without a word and her wide-eyed stare lowered to Brick's hand. Brick's eyebrows furrowed and he looked down to see his right hand glow bright crimson.

He grabbed his arm with his opposite hand, holding it steady, "This is why I asked you not to speak." He gritted his teeth as he forced his arm down to his side, Him's blood flowing more freely. "The more aware we are of your presence, the more Him's blood forces us to attack without reason. However, it seems only our counterparts trigger the effects." Brick glanced up to Bubbles and Buttercup, "I may not be affected by you two being here, but Boomer and Butch are, which is why they moved farther away."

Bubbles took a step closer and spoke in a whisper, "But then why are you standing so close to Blossom?"

Brick grinned without humor, happy Bubbles had whispered her question to keep from provoking Boomer, but a little embarrassed to be admitting all his secrets to these girls. His eyes tight, "I became exhausted when I punched the monster and Him's blood quieted. It made it easier to speak to Blossom, but it's wearing off…"

Buttercup folded her arms together and glowered at him, "Well what do you suppose we do? Let you attack our sister again once you can't take it?" she murmured sarcastically. Blossom elbowed her in the side. Buttercup gave her a look of concern.

Brick shut his eyes tightly, "I wanted to ask your help to escape from Mojo… He has a special remote that he uses to shock us if we don't do as he says. If he didn't have it, then we would be able to leave. If you can free us from him, we'll leave and never bother you again," he promised.

Blossom knelt down so she could look Brick in the eyes, "Why don't you just steal it?" she whispered.

Lowering her voice didn't help. Brick's eyes burned with rage as he stumbled a few steps back, to keep a distance between him and his counterpart, before falling over. He wouldn't be able to hold himself back much longer. "We tried. He had another," he groaned.

Buttercup turned to her sister, "What should we do Leader Girl?"

Brick didn't hear an answer; he turned around to check on his brothers. They hadn't moved from their original stances, whether that was good or bad Brick wasn't sure.

He turned back to the Powerpuffs to see Buttercup nod to Blossom. Buttercup walked towards him as Blossom and Bubbles flew off towards Boomer and Butch. Buttercup stepped behind Brick and slid her hands under his arms before lifting him off the ground and rising above the city.

"What are you doing?" Brick asked in annoyance.

Buttercup groaned, "We're taking you back to the Professor. Blossom and Bubbles are getting your brothers."

Brick tried to pull his arm away from Buttercup's grip, but she held on, "I can fly you know," he insisted.

Buttercup glared back down at him, "I'm not carrying you because I don't think you can fly. I'm doing it so you don't go ballistic and attack my sisters again."

Brick sighed heavily and allowed Buttercup to carry him the rest of the way. She had a point and there was no use arguing about it. They flew over the city for a while in complete silent; Brick having nothing to say and Buttercup having nothing to ask. Brick glanced down every so often to see the tops of skyscrapers and the microscopic heads of citizens hundreds of feet below. After some time, the buildings began to thin and a smaller neighborhood formed outside the city, each house clearly separated unlike the apartments in the city and buildings pressed tightly together.

Buttercup flew over to a pasty house, angles sharp and unusually square. Three windows were cut in the upper story and a garage and door below. She set him down on the driveway before floating down in front of him.

She placed her hands on her hips, "Okay, here's how it's going to work. You and your brother's are going to be put under a containment ray to prevent the use of your powers. We'll ask the professor if he can do anything and he'll probably want to run a few tests on you guys. Got it?" Buttercup raised an eyebrow at Brick, unsure of his intellect.

He glared sternly back at her, "Fine."

Buttercup turned to the door and began walking away. "Aren't we waiting for the others?" Brick asked.

She peered back at him over her shoulder, "No, we don't want you too close to Blossom and Butch would probably be better off staying away from me too. I'll take you to the professor and you can wait for your brothers with him."

Brick didn't bother to answer in any way, he just followed behind Buttercup. She led him through the doorway and down the hall. They passed a couch that sat before a TV and then turned to another hall of pictures and portraits. Brick glanced at each and every picture, all of Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup happily together. There were some from trips to the beach, some from birthdays. In most of the pictures there was a man with them who Brick assumed was the professor.

Buttercup stopped suddenly at the first door on the left. Brick had been so engrossed with the photos he almost stumbled into her. She opened the door slightly and peered in, "Professor?"

"Yes Buttercup?" a voice bellowed up from the stairs below.

"Um… could you help some of our… _friends_ with something?" she asked wearily.

"Sure, come on down," he answered.

Buttercup pulled the door completely open and stepped through. Brick followed behind her. She floated down the steps, but Brick walked down steadily holding the railing. He examined his surroundings carefully; the room appeared to have been constructed of purely metal, the walls shining in the light. Test tubes and beakers covered the desks and tables around the room along with notes and open books. Assorted inventions with unknown purposes sat scattered around the lab. Buttercup floated over to a man working near one of the tables.

"Professor?" she asked.

The man turned and removed a pair of safety goggles he had been wearing. His hair was a striking black and he wore the white suit of a stereotypical scientist. He smiled at Buttercup, "Hi honey," he greeted before turning to Brick. "And who might you be?" he asked.

Brick opened his mouth to answer, but Buttercup did for him, "He's Brick, but that's not important right now," Brick raised an eyebrow at Buttercup but remained silent as she spoke, "It's more important that we get him in the containment ray first."

The professor cocked his head slightly, "The contain ray? But why?"

"I'll explain when Blossom and Bubbles get back," she insisted. Brick looked back up at the professor.

The professor eyed him strangely, probably wondering why Buttercup wanted him under the containment ray so badly. "Well, alright," he agreed. "Brick, could you go stand over there," he motioned to the blank wall next to the stairs they had come down.

Brick nodded and walked back to the staircase and stood facing Buttercup and the professor. The professor stepped over to a large laser that was pointed directly at Brick. Brick tensed for a second and shut his eyes as he waited for them to fire. "Don't worry Brick. This shouldn't hurt you at all," the professor reassured.

"It's fine," Brick insisted. "Just go ahead."

He heard the professor fiddling with a few buttons and knobs as they beeped. He waited patiently, still waiting for the ray.

"Okay Brick, it's fine," the professor called from the other end of the lab.

Brick opened his eyes to see the room tinted orange. He looked down at his hands to see his skin and sweater had turned to an auburn shade. He fell back and leaned against the wall before sighing. At least it was better than Mojo's capsules.

"Blossom and Bubbles should be back soon, I'll go check for them," Buttercup suggested. She floated over to the staircase when Brick stopped her.

"What if Butch's here?" he asked. He figured she'd forget and he didn't want Butch to be blamed for Buttercup's carelessness.

She folded her arms together and floated back to the professor, "Actually Professor, could you go wait for them outside instead? They're bringing two more of our… _friends_ that need to be put in the containment ray too."

"Um… sure," he agreed. He seemed very confused about the whole situation, but he didn't bother arguing. He stepped past Brick and up the flight of stairs. Buttercup took his place next to the machine, leaning against the laser. She glared harshly at Brick. He just pretended to ignore her. He didn't think she'd ever ease up to him, no matter what he said.

Brick turned to the sound of the door opening again and he watched as Blossom floated down with Boomer. They landed next the Brick, just beyond the ray. Boomer eyed the light surrounding his brother with concern.

"It's alright," Blossom comforted, "Just stand there a moment."

Blossom walked over to Buttercup and helped her adjust the settings on the containment field. Boomer watched as she left them, then turned to Brick, "What's the laser for?"

"It's to stop us from attacking them," Brick answered. "And our powers from being used."

Boomer's expression remained unchanged and after a moment he was engulfed in the orange light too.

"Hey! Let go me!"

Brick, Boomer, Blossom, and Buttercup all turned towards the door at the sound of Butch's yelling. Bubbles appeared in the doorway, still carrying Butch, her arms stretched away from her body. "Ew! Ew! Ew!"

She floated down the stairs as he thrashed in her arms. The moment she reached the floor, she dumped him on the ground hastily and flew over to her sister. Once again, the ray was attuned to contain the new number of detainees.

Bubbles floated down next to Blossom, "He smells awful!" she complained, dangling her fingers.

Butch propped himself up on his elbows, "What's going on?"

Brick smiled slightly, "Butch, it's fine. They're just gonna run a few tests on us to see…" Brick trailed off after a moment of thinking. He pushed himself away from the wall and faced the girls, "What are you guys testing us for anyway?"

Before the girls had a chance to answer, the professor entered the lab and strolled over to join the Powerpuffs. "Now girls, you were going to explain why you brought these boys home and why you wanted to put them in the containment ray?"

The Rowdyruff boys spaced out as the girls explained everything to the professor. Brick vaguely listened as Blossom repeated what he had told her earlier in the city; Mojo, Him's blood, the remote, the fight, everything. The professor asked an occasional question, but mostly listened with interest to their explanation.

Brick thought back to Mojo's laboratory. He thought about how him and his brothers had been forced to spend the night caged like dogs. Even though they couldn't use their powers do to the beam, he preferred the containment ray to Mojo's capsules. It felt more as though he was a part of the world again, instead of an old toy stuffed in a drawer.

He stared off into space, unaware of the professor until he stood a few feet in front of him. Brick glanced up at him, his attention returning.

"Brick?" the professor asked.

Brick nodded.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to run a few experiments on you and your brothers to see if I can learn more about Mojo's internal remote and maybe figure out a few things about how you are related to my girls," the professor smiled reassuringly at Brick as he asked him his favor.

Brick smirked back; the professor treated him more like a person than Mojo ever had. He nodded again, "Sounds good to me."

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	7. Chapter 7: Examination

**Hello Readers! I have absolutely nothing to say! Sorry, I'm just drawing a blank... anyway, I hope you like this chapter! ^^**

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Butch rose from his seat on the ground and raised an eyebrow at the professor, a skeptical look on his face, "What kinda tests?"

The professor brought one of his hands up to rub his chin, "Well, I'd like to start out with a standard physical, more so blood pressures and heart rates. After that I can give you guys x-rays to see if I can pick up an imbedded chip of some sort. They're commonly used with tracking devices and remotes, like the one Mojo has… Oh, my girls mentioned that you'd managed to steal his remote before. You wouldn't happen to still have it would you?"

Brick thought back to earlier that morning. After he'd blasted the remote from Mojo's grip Boomer had been the one to snatch it away. He hadn't seen him return it, and Boomer didn't have very much time to do anything with it either.

Brick turned to Boomer, "Do you have it?"

Boomer nodded and reached into his pocket to produce Mojo's remote. The professor smiled as Boomer handed it to him.

"Just don't press and of the buttons," Brick warned.

"Now let's see…" the professor began hypothesizing, "Each of you has your own custom button, blue, red, and green. Then what is this last button for?" the professor asked, pointing at the black button below the other three.

Brick shrugged, "As far as we know, he's never used it."

The professor began rubbing his chin again, "Alright then. For now let's get your physicals taken care of. I'll look over the remote tonight, but I'm very curious about you three." The professor leaned in closer to get a better look at Brick, only to have Brick take a step back, closing in on the wall behind him.

"You may not know this, but Mojo has tried over and over again to defeat my girls so he can take over the world and I have no doubt in my mind that he has created you three for that purpose as well," the professor spoke as if the boys had been the ones to commit the monkey's crimes. The accusation in his tone frightened Boomer; he backed up against the wall, intimidated by the professor.

Brick and Butch stood their ground defiantly. It wasn't their fault they were created by a conniving monkey. Brick's crimson eyes glared back at the professor, "He did mention that…" Mojo had made his loathing for the Powerpuff Girls quiet clear to the Rowdyruffs.

The professor walked back towards the girls and set the remote down on a desk behind the laser. He also picked up 3 heart monitor straps and watches, along with a small metal case. He paced back over to the boys on the other side of the room, handing a heart monitor to Brick.

"Could you put this one for me?" he asked. "The strap goes around your chest. You can fasten it under your sweater. Your heart rate will appear on the watch."

Brick took the strap and watch from the professor. He clipped the watch onto his right wrist and adjusted the setting as the professor handed sets to his brothers. Then he slid the strap under his sweater and secured it just below his rib cage. It fit snuggly, but he figured he'd get used to it. Brick turned back to the professor after accomplishing his instructions, "Okay?"

"Alright," he turned back to his girls, "Blossom, can you turn off the ray?"

Blossom played around with a few buttons on the control panel as her sisters eyed her with concern. Eventually, she pulled a lever, and as she did the orange light faded. Brick felt his strength returning and almost immediately he was hyper aware of his red-headed counterpart standing a few meters away. His eyes blazed and his muscles tensed. He balled his hands up into fists and stared at the ground, forcing himself to remain on the opposite side of the laboratory, despite the increasing pull Blossom had on him. He glanced over to Boomer through narrowed slits to see him holding his arm, eyes completely shut. Butch was reacting too; he kept his jaw clenched, his arms trembled from the overwhelming strength he was desperately trying to hold back.

Why hadn't their instincts reacted until then? It wasn't as if Brick had felt nothing when Blossom first entered the room, but now… now he could barely keep his blood from boiling.

Brick peeked up at the professor, making sure to keep his eyes off Blossom, "Um… professor? What… exactly do you… want us to do?" his voice was strained from his efforts.

"Well, I'd like to place you three in the training simulator. It should be sufficient exercise to trigger the heart monitors."

The professor walked past the girls and down a hall behind the stairway they had come down. The girls trailed behind their dad and after their distance between the Puffs had increased, the boys followed. As they reached the corner, Brick peaked around the edge to be sure that the girls were a safe distance away.

He saw a bulky, metal cube jutting out of the side wall. The container had a large, glass window on the front wall facing them, a control panel below and an iron door to the left. The professor sat in a chair in front of the many switches and dials. Brick glanced farther away to see the girls pressed against the back wall, plenty far away.

Brick and his brothers stepped around the corner and approached the professor. He smiled warmly back at them, "Alright boys, if you'd just step through that door, we'll get started."

Brick said nothing; he just turned back and opened the door as he stepped through, his brothers right behind him. Brick turned to the window before them, the professor smiling as he did. Boomer shut the door behind him as he walked through, and when he did, Brick could no longer feel Blossom's presence. His jaw dropped slightly as he realized he'd been gritting his teeth.

He turned around to Butch, his jade eyes wide, "What just happened?"

Brick glanced to Boomer who seemed just as confused. All three Rowdyruff shifted their gazes to the professor on the other side of the glass window. "Uh… professor?" Brick began to ask, stopping when he wasn't sure how to word his question.

"Yes?" the professor encouraged. His voice rang through the chamber.

Brick bit his lip. "Why… how come w-we can sense the girls anymore?" he stuttered. He didn't want to be the one asking the professor why he didn't strive to kill his daughter anymore.

"Well, it's probably because you three are in a closed off section away from the girls. Now, let's get on with your tests…"

The professor's voice faded away as the bleached walls surrounding the boys began to change. The tiles vanished and were replaced by skyscrapers and clouds. Brick looked down at his feet to see the city of Townsville as it had seemed when Buttercup had carried him to their house. Then he realized he was floating and he groaned internally. Flying wasn't a favorite of his; he felt more comfortable on his feet.

"Alright…" the professor sighed when the images had finished loading. Brick turned to where the glass window had been, but now all he could see was the skyline of Townsville. He noticed his brothers looking around as well, looks of confusion on their faces.

"Could you boys circle once around Townsville for me?" the professor asked, his location still unclear.

Brick raised an eyebrow to himself as he glanced down at the ground, roughly 200 feet below him. He glanced up to see his brothers eyeing him again, waiting for his cue. Honestly, they could think for themselves, couldn't they?

Brick nodded to them and at once, the Rowdyruffs took off in a multicolored stream around the border of Townsville. It had taken them barely a split second before they returned to their original locations. They hovered in the sky, waiting for the professor's next command.

"Interesting…" he muttered.

"W-what is it?" Boomer asked. He looked worried about the professor's tone.

"It appears that your heart rates didn't rise at all after circling Townsville. That shouldn't be right…" the professor's voice echoed as he trailed off, lost in thought.

After a few moments, he spoke again, "Hmm… alright. Girls, can you come here a minute? ... Okay, I'd like to send one of you three into the simulation with the boys. Who wants to go?"

_…_

_WHAT!_

Brick breath caught, his eyes widening. What was the professor thinking! He'd be sending his girls into certain death! Didn't they already explain everything to him!

"I do!"

Brick's worry ceased for a moment before starting up again, him tension increasing when he heard Blossom and Buttercup volunteer simultaneously. He clenched his jaw and glanced back at Boomer and Butch. Boomer looked both relieved and concerned; relieved because Bubbles had not volunteered and concerned that her sisters had. He glanced eagerly from Butch to Brick, back and forth.

Butch's eyebrows puckered, his fists clenched. Brick wasn't sure if Butch would be able to control himself. His strength was massive and his patience was thin; if Buttercup so much as floated the wrong way he could crack.

"Come on Professor, let me go! I'll kick his butt in no time!" Buttercup pleaded. _Buttercup, _Brick thought, _if you want to live, __shut up!_

"I don't know…" the Professor muttered, "I don't want you to go in and start fighting them right away."

Brick breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't have to worry about Butch losing his temper anymore.

"Blossom?"

He had his own problems to deal with.

"Yes Professor?" Blossom asked eagerly. The echo of Blossom's voice ran through the simulator. Brick balled his hands up into fists at his sides, his breaths becoming shallow. If the professor hadn't picked up any change in his heart rate after flying across the city, his reading must be off the charts by now; he could feel the pain of his heart pounding in his chest, the heat of his eyes blazing, quickly shutting them tightly.

_No… no… Don't lose it…_

Brick gritted his teeth together as he chanted silently to himself.

_No… Don't… Lose it…_

"Brick?"

_Stay calm…_

"Brick!"

Brick sighed heavily.

"BRICK!"

Brick's eyes shot open to see Butch and Boomer standing on either side of him. They were crouched down slightly so they could see his face; he had been hunched over facing the ground. Butch was shaking his shoulder, trying to get his attention; he had been the one calling Brick's name.

At the sight of his brothers, Brick straightened up, as did they. Immediately, he realized he was no longer floating, the hologram of the city gone. Now his feet were planted firmly on the white tiles that had lied beneath them when the Rowdyruffs first entered the simulator. Brick turned to the window the professor sat behind so quickly his neck almost snapped. He was breathing quickly, but he had managed to calm himself down. Even now, as he stared at the Professor and his counterpart standing beside him, he wasn't blind with rage.

Not yet anyway…

"Brick?" the professor asked, "Are you alright?"

Brick could feel redness that had sunken into his cheeks from his reaction to Blossom's voice and he continued to breathe through his slightly open mouth. He nodded to them.

"Okay, I'll send Blossom in now," the professor replied.

Brick's eyes widened with fear as he watched a pink streak fly towards the door. Boomer chose to speak his thoughts for him, "Uh, Professor, I don't think that's such a g-"

Boomer stopped as the door into the simulator opened to reveal Blossom. She stepped quickly into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Brick shut his eyes and turned his head away from Blossom. He kept his jaw clenched as well as his fists. Butch's grip on his shoulder tightened and Boomer stood between the two reds.

"Brick," the professor's voice rang. Brick peeked up at the professor with the eye farther away from Blossom. "Try to hold back as best you can while Butch and Boomer fight Blossom. But remember, if the urge ever gets to strong… it's okay."

_IT'S OKAY!_

Brick wanted to scream at the professor. He wanted to break out of the simulator right then and punch him right across the face. He had no idea what he was going through right then. And what kind of father says it's okay for a boy to go kill his daughter? But even more he wanted to yell at the professor, Brick wanted to rip Blossom to shreds.

At the thought of this, other images floated into his head; images of Blossom in pain, pictures of her bleeding, illustration of his dark desires. Brick groaned in agony and felt to the floor, holding his arms tightly as he rested on his knees.

"Brick!" Boomer turned in surprise.

"Just go get Blossom! Do it before _I_ do!" Brick kept his head down, his chin resting on his arms.

"You got it!" Butch replied and he heard the high-pitched screeches of his brother's taking off, sapphire and emerald streaks flashing around him. He remained curled up on the ground. He squeezed his forearms until his knuckles turned white. All he could do was sit in the corner and wait for his brothers to finish off Blossom.

"You really shouldn't underestimate your counterpart so much," the professor teased.

Brick glared up at him through narrowed eyes, then glanced sheepishly over in the direction Butch and Boomer had raced off in. The room had changed again; now they were fighting in a field with no buildings or houses in sight. All he could see was a streak of pink being pursued by flashes of blue and green. After many circles and turns, Blossom stopped flying and merely floated in the sky, high above Brick. He watched as Butch and Boomer darted towards her from either side. Despite the pain of his current state, a smirk appeared on his face. He knew what Blossom was trying to pull.

She smiled as she glanced to either side, glimpsing the green and blue streaks of her sister's counterparts. They neared her quickly, must too quickly for any ordinary person to perceive, but she was far from ordinary. At the last second, just before the boys were able to strike her, she shot upwards and the two Rowdyruffs collided.

Brick chuckled. The professor had been right; he shouldn't underestimate Blossom. But then again, maybe he had just overestimated his brothers. He watched Butch and Boomer fall back before steadying themselves in the air, both of them rubbing their heads.

"Alright boys, that's enough."

The holograms faded as Butch, Blossom, and Boomer floated down to the floor. Brick smiled weakly and turned away. At least he'd been able to hold himself back.

"Butch, Boomer, you two can come out. I want Brick and Blossom to have a test battle alone."

_WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GUY!_

Brick's eyes shot open and he turned to see his brother's leave the chamber, there expressions matching his. Sweat dripped down from his cap, his muscles tensed.

"Come on Brick. Time to train," Blossom encouraged.

Brick flinched at her words, the sound and the meaning hurting him. He really didn't want to hurt her, not as badly as he had the first time they'd met. He felt his muscles tense and he rose slowly. He faced Blossom head on.

"Okay Brick, this time, don't hold back."

Brick's shut his eyes tightly and clenched his jaw. After a moment, he lifted his head, staring into his counterpart's innocent, rosy eyes while his eyes, in turn, glistened with a scarlet flair. _Oh God, someone help me,_ he pleaded silently.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	8. Chapter 8: Exertion

**Hi Peoplez! Thank you for so many wonderful reviews! I'm sorry to say that this chapter is a little shorter, mostly because I just needed a good stopping point and there wasn't going to be one for a while, meaning that the next chapter should be pretty long. Also, to answer some questions, you can imagine the Rowdyruff Boys however you want, but when I write about them, I see them more like… Bleedman's style. Has anyone read his manga? Anyway, it's more anime like than bugged eyed… Also, about the DNA gender thing. I have thought about that and there might be an explanation of some sort later in the story. ^^ You never know. Now, on with the story!**

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Brick glared at his counterpart for a split second as his instincts began to surface. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, filled with a poison that stung his body. His breathe caught as he struggled futilely to stop the rush. His hands balled up into fists and began to gleam with a scarlet aura. He shut his eyes tightly, but at this point his efforts were pointless; he mind was beginning to slip away.

Brick streaked forward against his will, aiming for his counterpart. As the distance between them shortened, her magnetic pull on him grew stronger, urging him on. He gritted his teeth together as he tried once again to resurface from Him's influence, but it was all in vain.

Just before the two collided, Blossom side stepped Brick's attack. Brick took the opportunity to put some distance between them again and to give Blossom a change to run away. Brick forced himself to race blinding ahead as he had been, driving himself not to turn and hit Blossom on the spot as he passed her.

Brick spun around sooner than he would have hoped to see Blossom eyeing him strangely, a hint of confusion deep in her eyes.

Brick threw himself at her again without thinking. Once he realized he had begun to attack her again, he held back as best he could, attempting to weaken his strike. He balled his right hand up into a fist and hurled his arm upward.

Blossom continued to glare at him, not with anger but with perplexity. She barely paid any attention to his punch. She simply ducked out of the way, just as she had before.

Brick threw punch after decelerate punch. He forced his speed to remain low; he wasn't about to let Him's blood take control of him again, not so easily. He absentmindedly attacked over and over again, until Blossom took to the skies. She glowered down at him. "You're not the same boy who beat me before," she taunted.

Brick's eyes flared, his blood rushing, "You're darn right I'm not!" He shot up, attempting to punch her again, but Blossom caught his fist in the palm of her hand.

Brick's eyes widened in surprise, his blood burning, "You're holding back," she whispered.

Blossom's touch stung Brick's hand, making him fall deeper into Him's influence. He gritted his teeth together as his awareness began to fade once more. He knew what she was up to; she was going to just keep talking until he lost control completely. Brick felt his eyes burn, his heart pounding. "Are you suicidal or something!" he yelled.

Blossom released Brick's fist and let his punch follow threw into empty space as she flew up above his head. Her eyes scanned him from top to bottom, her questioning gaze returning, "Why aren't you fighting me?"

Brick's breathes became short and quick. His heart burned as it pushed sinful blood through him; his muscles ached with the poison. His hunger roared deep within him, akin to that of a siren's call. Every fiber of his being screamed at him: _kill her…_ _kill her…_

Brick could feel his consciousness vanishing, but he desperately forced himself to think in spite of it. His feeling was slipping away, his awareness practically gone. If he could just keep himself thinking, if he could just keep his mind active, he might be able to avoid killing Blossom. Brick gripped his arms tightly and fell to his knees, his head down, "N-no… I won't… won't do it."

Blossom floated down and landed right in front of Brick. Despite the hair covering his eyes he could see the shine of her shoes. Then she knelt down so that they were face to face, her brilliant pink eyes staring at him, "Why not? You did it before."

Brick stopped breathing. This person… this girl, who he personally wanted to slaughter more than anything at that very moment, was kneeling less than six inches away from his face.

Brick clenched his jaw more tightly. He shut his eyes, but that only made it easier to feel the burning. The irresistible urge was almost too much. The overpowering yearn to attack her caused his body tense, ready to spring; ready to strike her down.

But he compelled himself to remain seated. It took every ounce of self control he had to keep still. What was she thinking!

He quickly streaked back a few yards in a flash of crimson light, desperate to put some space between him and his counterpart. His rage scorched his eyes. He glanced down to see his right hand glowing brightly, a power beam ready to be fired. Slowly, his arm rose without his command, shaking as it bent his will. He clamped down on his forearm with his opposite hand, forcing it back down. "I… I don't want… to hurt you…" he managed to mumble, his voice stressed from his efforts.

She folded her arms across her chest, her analytical glare unchanging, "Why not?"

Brick glared harshly at her, his rage blazing. "Do I need a reason not to hurt someone!" he yelled. He looked down as soon as he finished. Meeting her gaze was a mistake; his glowing arm thrashed.

Blossom tilted her head as her eyebrows knitted together. "But you're Mojo's newest weapon?" She said this as if it were a question.

Brick's eyebrow furrowed as he gritted his teeth, still pressing his arm to his side, "...And?"

"Weren't you created to destroy us?" she pressed.

As Blossom spoke, Brick's right arm jerked violently again, the scarlet glow intensifying. He fell down to one knee, his other foot planted firmly on the ground. He groaned, "S-so what i-if... w-w-we were? M-makes no d-difference..."

Doubt glistened on Blossom's eyes, but it faded quickly as her face was shrouded in suspicion. "Then why did you guys attack us when we first met?"

Brick bit harder against his teeth. The more she spoke, the harder it was to keep his tempter from taking over. He could feel his left hand shake from holding his arm down. He spoke through clenched teeth, his head down and eyes closed, "I already… t-told you!"

Blossom's glower tightened, "You seem to be doing a fine job of not killing me today."

Brick opened his eyes slightly to see that his vision was becoming blurry. If this took much longer, he was sure he would be overcome by Him's blood again, and if that happened…

Brick glared down at his glowing palm as it thrashed under his grip. "Mojo… ordered us to. And… w-we weren't expecting… We didn't know…"

Fear raced through Brick as he felt his hands leave the ground. He looked down to see his right hand rise slowly in front of him. He sensed his power building up in his palm as his hand smoldered in front of him, crimson light radiating from the center.

Brick's eyes glowed with the same hue as his hand, "Blossom… you have no... idea… h-how close I was." He glanced down at his shimmering hand one more time, then he shut his eyes tightly as it rose the last few inches so that it was on the same level as Blossom's face.

"LOOK OUT!" He yelled as his hand fired a beam of red lightning towards her. Blossom's eyes widened in horror as a shock ran across the ground. The sound of an explosion rang through Brick's ears and he felt his heart stop. He looked up to a cloud of smoke that covered the spot Blossom had been standing.

"No…," he whispered. There's no way… He couldn't have… _killed _her …Could he?

The smoke started to clear as Brick began to rise from his spot on the ground cautiously. If she _was_ okay, then he'd still have to be ready to hold back his temptations, though they had quieted slightly from the attack. The grey cloud began to fade, revealing the shadow of his counterpart lying on her side. As more smoke cleared, he saw that she was propped up on her elbow, dirt and scratches covered her cheeks. She had jumped away from the blast.

Brick breathed a sigh of relief. Then the surrounding area began to fade away, just like the smoke; the white tiles began to reappear. The professor and Buttercup came into view in the window ahead of them, along with Boomer.

"Blossom?" the professor called.

Blossom floated over to the glass window, "Yes Professor?"

The professor readjusted the microphone with the tips of his fingers, "How did he do?"

Blossom glanced back at Brick for a moment before turning to the window again, "I… I think he's still tired from the monster fight earlier. Maybe we should test him a little later."

Brick's eyes widened slightly. _Later!_

"Are you sure?" the professor asked again.

Blossom nodded, "Why don't you give Buttercup a chance? I can tell she's more than ready."

_WHAT!_

Brick's jaw dropped slightly as he eyed the green Powerpuff who was practically jumping through the roof at the chance to fight Butch. She had a huge grin spread across her face. Her mouth moved as she said something to the professor, but Brick couldn't hear what it was since she wasn't speaking into the microphone. The professor nodded to her. Whatever she had asked, she seemed very excited about the answer.

The professor turned back to Blossom, "Alright, you two can come out now."

Blossom smiled and headed over to the door. Brick groaned internally as he stepped towards the exit, not anticipating his brother's fight.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	9. Chapter 9: Annoyance

**Thanks again to everyone that has been reviewing! ^^ It can make writing much easier and sometimes I get ideas from your reviews! Anyway, here's the next chapter! Hope you guys like it!**

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Blossom turned the handle and smiled at her sister and the professor as she stepped out of the simulator. Brick tried to look around her, but the door was still half shut, making it impossible to see anything other than the empty space above her head. "Alright Buttercup, you're up!" she encouraged eagerly.

"Yes!" Brick caught a glimpse of Buttercup pumping her fists back against her sides, a grin spread across her face. Boomer stood a few paces back, his bright eyes filled with worry.

The professor smiled behind her and turned to the hall that lead to the containment ray, "Butch, can you come in here?"

"Hold it!" Brick pushed the door open the rest of the way with his outstretched arm. He'd just been forced to fight his counterpart in a lose-lose situation; if he'd attacked her… well, she would be in no condition to help him and his brothers escape from Mojo, and when he didn't fight back she'd only tempted him more. He wasn't about to let Butch go through that too.

He glanced to his right to see Butch walking around the corner with Buttercup just barely out of his line of sight, "Butch, stop."

Butch stared back into Brick's warning glare with a look of confusion. Brick turned back to see Blossom standing a foot away from him, Buttercup, Professor, and Boomer behind her.

He gritted his teeth slightly as his head ached, but the pain wasn't as severe as before, thanks to his power blast. He glowered at the professor, irritated at the face that was responsible for the suffering he'd just endured. "My brother's aren't going through that. Not without an explanation."

The professor blinked in surprise, "It's your physical."

Brick clenched his fists. "What kind of physical was that!" he growled. He felt his eyes burn slightly with his anger. "You have NO idea what you just put me through!"

The professor folded his arms together and eyed Blossom strangely, "Blossom, I thought you said he was too tired to take his test?"

Blossom gave the professor an awkward smile as she turned back to Brick, her expression transforming into a glower, "Brick, can I talk to you for a minute without you losing it?"

Brick returned the glare with crimson eyes that continued to glow brighter. "Maybe," he warned, unsure of the answer.

Blossom walked past him, past Butch, and down the hall towards the containment ray. Butch's eyes followed her as she strode past him, then his wide eyes settled on Brick as the red trailed behind his counterpart.

Butch stopped him before he walked by. He placed his hand on Brick's shoulder, forcing him to turn around and look him in the eyes. Brick saw his brother's eyes widen as he glared back. He could see his own reflection in his brother's eyes; jaw clamped firmly, scarlet eyes blazing. He looked like a monster, an insane, bloodlust monster. Butch released Brick's shoulder, an expression of fear on his face, "Dude, are you gonna be alright?"

Brick closed his eyes, took a deep through his nose and sighed through his mouth. He opened his eyelids barely more than half way and stared coldly back at Butch, his eyes flaring with anger, for once, more than venom, "No promises."

Butch's eyebrows knitted together with anxiety, but he shrugged it off and began walking back towards the professor and Buttercup.

Brick caught Butch's arm just before he turned the corner, "_Don't_ go that way."

Butch gulped, "R-right." He followed Brick as he walked past, heading in Blossom's general direction. When Brick caught sight of her, he paced forward until they stood face to face, his temper flaring more than his temptation, "Can I help you?"

Butch eyed the two reds as they continued their staring contest, until he grew tired of watching them and left. Brick carried on waiting for an answer as his urge to attack Blossom grew. "You better talk fast if you want to have a conversation before I lose it," he threatened.

She folded her arms across her chest, "Why are you here?"

Brick raised an eyebrow, "Is that supposed to be some philosophical question?"

Blossom's glare tightened, "Why did you come to us for help? Mojo's our arch enemy."

Brick gritted his teeth, both frustration and temptation blazing. "You just answered your own question," he stated.

Blossom stood on her tip toes, staring Brick right in the face, "Why do you want _our_ help to run away from Mojo? He made you didn't he? To destroy _us_? Which you almost did yesterday!"

_Don't lose it. Don't lose it. Don't lose it._

Brick kept his jaw clenched, his throat felt tight. His heart surged with pain, with craving, to lash out at the Powerpuff before him. He shut his eyes and turned his head away from Blossom's face. "Why are you doing this to me?" he groaned.

"Why?" she taunted, "If it _really_ makes you want to hurt me, why not just get it over with and be done with it?"

Brick turned and glared right back at his counterpart with crimson, hate filled eyes, "_Don't_ tempt me."

Blossom fell back on her heels and she stared at the ground. Brick clenched his fists in frustration, "You really are suicidal, aren't you?"

She completely ignored his question. "It won't work," she stated calmly, sternly.

Brick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What won't work?"

Blossom glanced up at him, "I know it's not true. What you told me and my sisters was just a bunch of lies."

Furry coursed through Brick, along with another shot of poison adrenaline, "What!"

"Brick, just how dumb do you think I am? You _can't _be made from my DNA, you would be a girl! And Mojo ordered you and your brothers to attack us yesterday and apparently you almost killed us, but I'm supposed to believe you guys just left the job unfinished for no reason? If you really had an innate urge to kill us, why would you stop? And now you came to _us_, the same Powerpuff Girls you tried to destroy less than 24 hours ago, for help?" Blossom glared at Brick as she finished.

His muscles tensed, his eyes radiating. His ability to comprehend beginning to vanish, but he clung to it desperately as he tried to think over what the Powerpuff Girl had just told him. She wasn't making very much sense, but he was enraged by one aspect she had made oh so clear.

"You don't believe me!" he practically yelled. She didn't believe anything. She didn't accept that it physically hurt him when he was near her. She didn't trust the fact that him and his brothers would attack her and her sisters out of instinct instead of reason. She thought everything he had told her was a trick.

"Of course I don't believe you! You're a villain!" she confirmed.

Brick's eyes tightened in an effort to weaken the burning. "Then why would you bring us to your house if you didn't trust us?"

"So we could find out what you are!" she yelled as if she'd told him this for the ten thousandth time.

"What if we attacked you again?" he challenged.

"We can take care of ourselves!" she protested, turning her back to him.

Brick smiled mockingly, "Hate to tell ya this Bloss, but it sure didn't look like you could handle it yesterday."

Blossom whipped around and glared daggers at her counterpart, "Do _not_ call me Bloss!"

Brick's expression changed to a glower, "You have no intention of helping us, do you?"

"No, because you don't need my help! That whole speech you gave me before wasn't true!"

Brick could barely take anymore. The heat radiating from his eyes was enough to burn his eyebrows off. He spoke through clenched teeth, his voice husky from the enormous amount of restraint he was exerting, "Blossom, everything I've told you is true."

His eyes flared, his muscles ached. His blood boiled, stinging his body once again. His heart was burning as it pumped evil blood through his veins. All that kept him from attacking his counterpart was a thin line of patients, a line that was beginning to crack.

Brick clenched his shaking fists at his sides, urge and anger building up, "You have absolutely no idea how far gone I was, how close you were to death," he threatened, "Blossom… if there was any other way to escape from Mojo, I can almost guaranty that you wouldn't be breathing right now."

"So you _do_ want to kill me," she mocked. "And here I thought earlier you told me you didn't."

Brick shut his eyes and turned his head away; he could no longer look at his counterpart without an additional dose of poison seeping through his veins. "Personally, I don't, you're just being difficult and it's beginning to get frustrating." He paused, staring down at his hand as he flexed his fingers, "Well, it's like you said. Mojo created us specifically to destroy you." Brick glanced back to Blossom to see if his threats had any effect on her. As he did, he felt a new wave of temptation course through him, his heart throbbing, "I'd say he did a pretty good job."

Blossom's eyes tightened, "If you want to fight me so bad, why didn't you do it when we were in the simulator?"

A shiver ran through Brick as she spoke, his body heating up. He didn't have much time left. He struggled to make his voice sound controlled, "Because if you're dead then you can't help us." He paused for moment, trying to regain some composure, "What was… the point in that anyway?"

"The professor was checking to see if the Him's blood in your system would cause a reaction when you fought with me. But for the professor's hypothesis to be correct, you would have had to be telling the truth, but sense you refused to fight me, I guess you're just trying to cover up your lies."

Brick's breathe caught in his throat as his power began to build up. His fists began to glow again with his red aura, his flaming eyes narrowed into slits. He gritted his teeth as his body went tense. A voice rang threw his head, making him dizzy, _Kill her… Kill her…_

Brick shook his head and with all of his efforts, flew past Blossom and out the door at the top of the stairs, leading out of the laboratory, all the while the voice continued to chant, _Kill her… Kill her…_ He darted through the family room and out the front door, into the fresh air and bright daylight.

He fell to his knees in the grass, digging his fingers into the soil, his breathing fast and short. His muscles began to relax as his arms shook, his power beginning to fade away with Him's influence. Brick stared wide eyed at his shadow below him, the red light from his eyes illuminating the spot where a dark outline of his head should be.

_Kill her…_

He clenched his jaw again, biting hard as he waited for the voice to fade. It made his head spin. Sweat trailed down his forehead and dripped from the tip of his nose.

"Brick?"

Brick glanced up to see Butch walking over to him. "You needed some fresh air too?" his brother asked.

"Y-yeah," Brick sighed, his breathes still coming much too quick. He shivered as his eyes refused to dim, the red light still dancing widely on the blades of grass in front of him.

"You hear that beeping?" Butch asked.

Brick attempted to focus, to listen to the sound, but his head was pounding so much that he couldn't concentrate. Brick shook his head, but that only made his head spin more.

…_Kill…_

Brick groaned at the sound of the fiend inside him. He wished it would stop.

"You okay?" Butch asked.

Brick didn't answer; he continued to gasp for air, waiting for his blurry vision to sharpen again and for his head to stop spinning.

Butch raised an eyebrow, "What happened to you?"

Brick shook his head, unsure if he would be able to speak clearly. He tried anyway, still panting, "Butch… I-I… I almost…"

"Lost it?" Butch finished for Brick. He nodded. Butch chuckled.

"It's… not funny Butch! ... It was horrible!" Brick protested between breathes.

Butch still giggled, "You did better than I ever could."

"Huh?" Brick peeked up at Butch.

Butch shrugged, "Sure, like a few minutes ago. Man did you look awful, but you still held out. You were even able to stand. _Stand_! And she was talking! I don't know about Boomer, but Dude, I can't even be in the same room as Buttercup."

Brick's breathing began to slow, but it still wasn't quite at its regular pace. He hadn't noticed his change in breathing while talking to Blossom. He gulped in mouthfuls of air, "I… don't know Butch… I could've… _really_ hurt her…"

Butch shook his head, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself Dude. It's not your fault. I'm surprised you were able to stand so close to her. You were even able to look her in the eyes!"

Brick released his grip on the ground and sat down on the lawn, holding his arms tightly. He kept his head down; he didn't want to look up at Butch when his eyes still so filled with temptation.

Butch's eyebrows knitted together, "Geez Dude, why are you letting this bug you so much?"

"It doesn't, it's just…" Brick searched his thoughts for an answer. Honestly, he wasn't really sure why in upset him so much. Was he annoyed that he couldn't control his own actions? No… he didn't think that was quite it. It did irritate him, but he felt too stressed out just then for the only cause to be horrible self control. He thought back to the conversation he'd just had with Blossom.

He felt a lump form in his throat as his heart raced, but without the poison. The extra blood pumping through his body didn't sting which, sadly, felt unusual to him. Could he be annoyed at Blossom? That made sense; he _was_ annoyed at Blossom. He'd told her everything she'd wanted to know, and she didn't believe any of it! Maybe he was just too stressed out in general...

Butch remained silent as Brick thought. He'd been staring off into space through most of his reverie, but then he focused in on his bangs when he noticed they were brighter than usual. After a moment, he realized it was from the glow of his irises as they shimmered before him on his hair. Why were they still gleaming!

…_her…_

Brick's breathe caught as he heard the almost inaudible call coming from his head. He tensed, ready to restrain from Him's temptation. Why would it bother him again? Blossom wasn't even around.

…_Help… her…_

_What?_ This voice that spoke… it wasn't the same dark, malice chant that had plagued his mind before. In fact, in comparison, this new voice could have been the sound of an angel's call.

… _Protect her…_

A strange energy coursed through Brick, not painful in any way, but still strong and powerful. This new energy compelled him to stand. His eyes widened. He glanced over to Butch, his expression mirrored on his brother's face. Then his body began to radiate with a bright scarlet light surrounding him before he subconsciously took off into the sky.

Brick looked back to see Butch staring up at him with wide eyes, "Where are you going!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Brick yelled back just his brother vanished from sight as he flew onward.

He turned back to the direction he was flying in, wind blowing his hair away from his face, his skin stretching to the ends of his cheeks. Brick desperately wished he knew where he was going, still unable to command his flight pattern. He looked around frantically, trying to find his destination.

"RRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR!"

Brick turned his head to see an enormous creature, much like a dinosaur, rampaging through town. It was gigantic and plated with orange scales that glistened in the sunlight. It stomped forward ever so slowly through the city, stepping on cars and smaller buildings on the way.

Brick's path of fight changed as he darted towards the monster. It seemed to be heading somewhere…

Brick scanned the area, attempting to find the creature's goal. He followed the beast's line of sight, leading to a pile of rubble lying before a nearby skyscraper.

Then Brick's heart stopped. He stared in horror as his gaze settled on his counterpart, lying motionless amongst the debris.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	10. Chapter 10: Destroy

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. And I'm sorry that this chapter isn't very long. I sorta rushed it and I'll probably fix it up later, like all my other chapters. Anyway, story time! ^^**

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Brick's trailing flare burned stronger behind him as he streaked to his counterpart. The monster stepped closer and closer to Blossom while her double raced to her side. The great creature began to step to the side, causing his tail to lash around and strike the Powerpuff.

Brick's eyes burned with inner fire as his speed picked up. This entire crisis may have lasted only an instant, but it felt like an hour, a day to him, as he flew towards Blossom. He only had a split second left before the immense dinosaur would collide with her. His inner instinct wouldn't have summoned him there if it weren't important; Blossom must be in even worse shape than she looked.

Brick watched as the monster's tail whipped around with a certain Powerpuff lying in its path. He flashed by, the tail flying just past his face, keeping pace with him as they both raced to their mark.

At the sight of this, his acceleration increased once again. He sped faster than he thought capable of, landing just in front of Blossom, just before the dinosaur's attack. Instantaneously, Brick whipped around, his hand catching the beast's tail.

Anger coursed through him, "Just who do you think you are!" he growled, his voice filled with malice. This monster, this thing, did it actually think it would take Blossom's life? This insolent creature… was going to ruin The Rowdyruff Boys' chance of escaping from Mojo.

Brick's ultrasonic hearing picked up a stirring noise coming from behind him. He turned to the sound, "…B-brick?" Blossom whispered.

Brick's body heat rose significantly, but his temptation quickly transformed to anger, "You're not dying on me! Not yet!" How dare she put herself in a situation like this when she knew him and his brothers needed her help.

Blossom stumbled to her feet, dirt and dust splattered across her face, a deep gash on her left cheek. She glared back at Brick, "What are you doing here!"

"Apparently you need my help!" In all honesty, he had no idea. If she was going to just wake up on her own why was it so important for him to be there? He was a bigger threat to her than any pee-brained monster.

"But how did you know where I was!" she continued to question, "And why the perfect timing?"

He focused his attention back on the creature's tail that he was still holding, rage building up inside him, but anger at the monster and urge towards Blossom, "When you figure it out, let me know!"

Brick flew up into the air, the monster now dangling by its tail below him. He held his hands in front of him, tail tightly grasped, and jerked his hands down to cause a whiplash to run through the creature as it landed a couple dozen yards away.

Blossom flew up next to her counterpart, "I can handle this myself!"

Poison ran through Brick just as it had earlier, stinging open wounds. His eyes flared crimson, "If you didn't need me, I wouldn't be here! And would you please go float somewhere else!"

Brick darted back, away from Blossom, before her presence began to affect him too much. He wished Blossom would heed his warnings, or at least use some amount of caution around him.

"EEEEEEEE!"

Brick turned just in time to see Bubbles get shot down by the colossal monster's claw, causing her to crash into a nearby building.

"Bubbles!" Blossom streaked just past Brick, her hair brushing across his face. His eyes glowed deep scarlet before he quickly shut them and turned away, his jaw clenched with annoyance. It was a wonder to him that that pink Powerpuff Girl was still alive.

"Blossom!"

A split second before Bubbles' scream, Brick's head shot around, eyes wide, to see Blossom get pile-driven into the ground. He instantly shot towards the girls; landing near the hole Blossom's impact had left in the street. He heard the almost inaudible sound of Bubbles' gasp, obviously not expecting to see him there.

Brick peered down into the cavity to see Blossom lying in a mound of rocks, unmoving. Her clothing was splattered with dirt and grime, her bow torn, and the cut on her cheek staining her face and shirt with blood.

When he saw Blossom lying there, Brick's entire body shut down. His heart stopped; his mind dazed and clouded. His hazy eyes remained fixed on Blossom as his arms went limp and he fell to his knees. Brick could vaguely make out the noise of Bubbles' high pitched voice calling his name, but her calls sounded quiet and distant.

After a moment, once realization started to set in, Brick's eyes began burned with rage. He stood and faced the monster, his fists already smoldering with crimson light. He gritted his teeth so hard he thought they'd shatter like glass.

The monster merely glanced down at him before turning back, his tail lashing out against the buildings around Brick and Bubbles. Brick shot upwards to avoid the strike, heading up to the monster as he attempted to strike back, before stopping in midair at a sound behind him.

Brick froze and glanced back to see the buildings surrounding the newly-made pothole begin to collapse, pieces of skyscrapers raining down on Blossom's crater.

Brick searched frantically for Bubbles, only to find her slumped against a building farther away after being struck by the creature's tail; clearly incapable of helping her unconscious sister.

Brick's head spun, panic causing his thinking to delay. Time seemed to slow as he watched the debris fall from the sky. What could he do? There was no way he could help her without killing her, not in the state he was in.

Segments of his earlier conversation with Butch ran through his head as his mind began to go blank.

_'You did better than I ever could. …you still held out…_ _I can't even be in the same room as Buttercup.'_

Brick shook his head; he couldn't.

Brick's eyes widened as the piles of falling building neared his counterpart.

_'You shouldn't be so hard on yourself Dude'_

Brick shut his eyes tightly, attempting to think of what to do without any distractions. In a desperate attempt to do something, Brick began blasting away at the rubble as it fell, trying to stop it before it reached the ground. However, he quickly realized there were too many fragments for him to destroy them all. Panic began to rise in his heart again.

Then the angle's voice shot through his mind

_Help her!_

Brick no longer had a say in his actions; he subconsciously shot down towards Blossom, his eyes blazing. He flew faster than the debris falling around him, nearing his target that much quicker. As soon as he reached the hole, Brick scooped Blossom up in his arms and rocketed back into the sky.

Brick felt his blood boil, poison seeping into his limbs. His body cried out in agony from the pain. He bit down on his lower lip, his head spinning.

_Kill…_

Brick glanced down at the girl in his arms and when he did, the light from his eyes intensified to the point where his pupils were engulfed in scarlet rays. His hands lit with fire, the crimson flames leaving scorch marks on Blossom's skin. The angle's voice that once graced his mind had completely vanished, a demon's beckoning taking its place, it's call booming through Brick's thoughts.

_Kill. _

_Slaughter. _

_Destroy._

Brick shut his eyes tightly, the heat from his eyes burning his eyelids. The menacing voice continued to chant, and Brick bit harder into his lip as he slowly began to hear his own voice echo the demon's.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

"K-K-Kill…" the word slipped through Brick's mouth and as it did, a more powerful wave of temptation, of pain, coursed through him. He had to find a place to set Blossom down, otherwise…

Brick opened his eyes and turned back to see a powerful blast trailing behind him. He followed the trail to find the dinosaur at the end of it, a beam shooting out of its mouth. When he glanced at the creature, Brick was vaguely aware that it had been red instead of orange. So had the building and the street and the sky; his vision was stained with scarlet light. He glanced back again and watched as the building behind them fell silently to the ground, smashing into the street, his hearing was drowned by the demon in his head.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

Brick's eyebrows furrowed in frustration as he clenched his jaw. He had no options left.

He would have to take Blossom back to the professor.

Brick streaked past the building, past the monster, the city whipping past him in a blur.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

"Slaughter…" a lump formed in Brick's throat as the chant escaped his lips. Heat flooded through him, the power of Him's blood causing him even more agony from holding it in.

He flew faster, faster than he ever had, narrowly missing skyscrapers as they passed.

Brick's eyes widened as he felt a warm liquid seep through his sweater and touch his arm. He glanced down to see the blood from Blossom's cut stain his shirt with a darker red.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

"D-D-De…" Brick looked up to see the Powerpuff Girls' house, almost reaching his destination. He glanced sideways as a streak heading off in the direction he had just come in, the color indistinguishable from the red filter covering his eyes. Brick turned forward relieved to see Butch still standing in the front lawn, his brother's eyes wide.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

Brick quickly landed in front of Butch and handed Blossom to him, "TAKE HER INSIDE!"

Butch didn't waste a second in dashing down to the lab, while Brick had his meltdown. The demon continued to chant, its volume increasing.

_Kill! Slaughter! Destroy!_

_Kill! Slaughter! Destroy!_

_Kill! Slaughter! Destroy!_

Why wouldn't the demon stop?

Brick shot straight up into the sky, flying in circles as he desperately tried to wear himself out and silence the voice.

_Kill! Slaughter! Destroy!_

It didn't help.

"Brick!"

Brick turned around to see his brother near him, a look of concern on his face.

_Kill! Slaughter! Destroy!_

Brick glanced down at his fist to see the red flames returning.

_WHAT!_

"BUTCH!" he yelled.

Butch stopped and hovered in the air. Brick gritted his teeth together at his arms began to rise against his will, "Use a force field!"

Butch crossed his arms together in front of his face as a green sphere surrounded him. Brick shot towards his brother and struck the barrier with his flaming fist. Both him and his brother shared a look of shear shock as their red and green auras dimmed and a white light engulfed them both, along with the town surrounding them.

Just as Brick's consciousness began to fade away in the light, a slight whisper fell from his mouth.

"...Destroy."

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	11. Chapter 11: Results

**Thank you reviewers! ^^ I got most of my ideas for this chapter from your comments! I hope you like it!**

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Brick shivered as he began to wake, feeling strangely cold. He blinked groggily to see he was back in the lab, and scrunched his nose as a pounding sensation from his head flooded his senses. He groaned and attempted to move his arm so he could rub his forehead, but was alarmed to find that when he tried all he could feel was an icy sting on his wrist before his arm refused to budge.

He glanced up to his hands to see that they had been bound by steel-plated cuffs. He looked down to see that his sweater was gone and his chest was covered in suction cups with wires clipped to the ends. He struggled to move his feet only to realize they bore matching anklets, which were fastened to an iron slab behind him. He shivered again; the metal felt cold against his bare back.

He looked down to the cables on his torso again and followed the cords as they drooped to the floor, leading to a strange device. It beeped and buzzed as readings flashed across its multiple screens. Brick's eyes widened as he watched one of the monitors rise and fall as he breathed. He shuddered again; he wished he had his sweater back.

He glanced down at his feet, and noticed another pair just within his peripheral vision. He glanced up to see Butch bound to the plate alongside him. His shirt had also been removed, similar wires strapped to his body. He was covered in bruises and scattered cuts. His right eye, the only eye Brick could see from that angle, was darkened and his hand looked as though it had been burned, blisters plastered on his palm, his fingers red. His eyes were closed; he must have still been knocked out.

"Ugh, finally!"

Brick's eyes widened as he turned to see Buttercup standing in the center of the room, hands on her hips, eyes tight. Boy did she look mad.

"What did you do to Blossom?" she yelled, her eyes flaring. They didn't glow the way Brick's and his brothers' did at times, but for as angry as she was they might as well have been.

Brick's head shot back when he picked up a soft grunt from his brother. He appeared to still be asleep, but his eyebrows were twitching with pain.

"Don't yell so loud," Brick whispered.

The green Powerpuff stomped up to the panel and glared Brick right in the face, "I told you I wasn't gonna let you hurt my sisters again! What did you do?" Despite the fact that she had lowered her voice to barely more than a murmur, her words sounded just as harsh and if not more threatening than if she had screamed them.

Brick glowered back at her, "I save her!"

Buttercup's glare tightened, "Yeah? From what! Blossom can handle herself!"

"From this giant orange dinosaur."

Buttercup's expression remained unchanged, "Right, like I'm supposed ta believe that! For being saved, she sure looks banged up." Buttercup turned her head to the machine Brick and Butch were hooked up to. Brick followed her gaze, realizing that it wasn't the device she was eyeing.

It was her sister.

Brick scanned over Blossom, analyzing her condition. She lied on her back as she rested on a small cot, a thin blanket covering her. Her sleeve was stained red and she bore a bandage on her left cheek. She was linked to the machine as well, though not with nearly as many wires as Brick and his brother. She, like Butch, was also still unconscious.

Then it dawned on him.

Brick's eyes widened as he stared at his counterpart. His heart thudded in his chest as he waited for the rush that would send his mind into malevolence, the instinct that would claim his sanity.

He waited…

…and waited…

But it never came.

Brick's jaw dropped slightly, his lips parting. Why? Why didn't he feel anything? Why didn't his blood boil?

Brick continued to stare at Blossom's defeated figure as it lie in her makeshift bed, astonished. He bit his lip as he searched for an explanation. _Maybe I'd just tired myself out again_, he decided and after a moment he smiled. Even if he was wrong he had no complaints.

Buttercup glared back at him again, "Now fess up, what did you do?"

Brick blinked away from his reverie before turning his head away from Buttercup in annoyance, "I didn't do anything to her."

This time, Buttercup's eyes really did blaze. Her pupils brightened as she readied her laser vision. Brick pulled at the cuffs tying his wrist back again, but he still couldn't break the steel. Why not? He could lift dinosaurs, why couldn't he crush iron.

He glanced back at Buttercup with worry, and sighed. Oh well, it would be over soon…

"…B-B-Butt-tercup…"

Both Brick and Buttercup's eyes widened in surprise as they turned back to Blossom's bed, where she was now lying on her side, one arm off the cot.

"…D-Don't," Blossom coughed. Her voice sounded incredibly strained. The sound of her rasping tugged at Brick's heart strings, before he sneered at himself and shut his eyes, turning his head away. That sound once caused him pain; he wasn't about to pity Blossom with his guard down.

Buttercup rushed to her sister's side, "Take it easy Leader Girl. Brick got ya pretty bad."

Brick glared at Buttercup's back and opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when he heard Blossom speak.

"…B-Brick? B-But Buttercup… he didn't… h-he…" She murmured.

"What?" Buttercup shook Blossom's shoulder gently.

"Buttercup!"

Brick and Buttercup turned to the stair to see Bubbles fly down. She landed eagerly in front of her sister, hopping up and down, speaking in short and quick shrieks.

"Buttercup you should have seen it!" she cried excitedly. "There was this giant orange dinosaur and it was really strong! And I fought it as hard as I could, but it didn't do anything. And then Blossom came and tried to help me, but we _still_ couldn't beat it. And then the monster swatted at Blossom and she couldn't get up and it was gonna whack her with its tail, but then Brick came outta nowhere and caught its tail! He caught it! And then he threw the dinosaur! And then I almost got hit again, and Blossom saved me, but she got knocked out, and then the dinosaur made all the buildings fall down around us, and Brick went back to save Blossom! And then the dinosaur fired at them with its mouth and he ran across the side of the building just like you do! Then he flew off and I tried to fight on my own again, but I got knocked down and almost got hit again, but then Boomer flew in and took the hit instead, and then I got really mad and yelled at the monster, and… he left."

Buttercup just looked at her sister in complete and utter shock, her jaw dropped. Bubbles just smiled sweetly and shrugged. Brick smirked down at them before thanking Bubbles for clarifying his story, "Thank you, Bubbles."

Buttercup turned slowly to Brick, one of her eyes twitching, still stunned. Bubbles looked over at him too.

"So, why are Brick and Butch tied up?" Bubbles asked.

Brick glared at Buttercup, "Yeah, why are we hooked up to that machine?"

Buttercup groaned, "It's there to help measure your breathing and heart rates. When Butch handed Blossom to Professor, he was confused cause he ran out right away, so once we brought Blossom down me and Professor when outside and found you guys knocked out on the front lawn. The wires also transmit small shocks if your hearts were to stop, and antidote X to make it so you two couldn't break out of the bands. Your powers will come back when they're off."

As Buttercup explained, the professor walked down the stairs and up to the Ruffs and Puffs. Boomer followed behind him. Brick's eyes widened as he glanced from Bubbles to Boomer, back and forth. He eyed Boomer as he approached with Professor, but if he was experiencing any pain at all from Bubbles, he was doing an amazing job hiding it.

"You're wondering about Boomer?" the professor asked.

Brick's breath caught and he nodded, "Yeah, what's… why doesn't he…?" Somehow, Brick just couldn't find the right words to ask why it was Boomer didn't want to attack the professor's daughter.

The professor chuckled, "It's my newest invention, and it's all thanks to your testing Brick." Brick raised an eyebrow.

"When you flew off to help Blossom, you were still wearing the heart monitor, and it was still transmitting data all the way here while you guys were fighting. I'm actually very surprised, and very proud of you Brick," Brick watched as the professor stepped past him, over to the simulator. When he returned, he was carrying a printout of some sort.

"This is the reading that was sent back here. And it actually shows how you genetic makeup changed during your fight."

Blossom swung her feet around the end of her bed and sat up, "B-But that's…"

"…That can't be right," Brick breathed.

The professor nodded, "Yes, that's what I thought. But the girls did say you had mentioned that you and your brothers had been created using Him's blood, and being that he is pure evil, I'm sure it was his DNA that caused the mutation."

"As you fought the monster, the level of Him's DNA in your body would spike at particular points, but never getting too high. But then, I assume this was when you picked up Blossom, the meter went crazy. Your DNA was fluctuating so much, that the signal changed every millisecond. Once it settled down, the reading still continued to rise steadily. I was sure you had attacked Blossom again, especially when Butch brought her inside, but when I asked he said you'd been the one to bring her back. I'm sorry I doubted you Brick, and thank you for helping Blossom."

Brick smiled up at the professor, "No problem Professor." He had to admit, he'd doubted himself too.

Buttercup folded her arms together, "So what does this mean Professor?"

"Yeah?" Bubbles nodded, "And why didn't they…"

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Why didn't they kill us yesterday?" Bubbles nodded again. Brick tried to hide his smile; he thought it was funny both Boomer and Bubbles had a hard time talking about violence. Guess counterparts do act alike.

The professor turned back to his chart, "Well, through that whole fight, there was one thing that made me think Brick might have held out. Brick, you said it hurts you and your brothers when Him's DNA takes over?"

Brick nodded.

"When you carried Blossom home, that time was the worst, wasn't it?"

A shutter ran down Brick's spin, but shut his eyes and nodded gravely.

When he looked up, the professor was smiling, "Through that entire incident, the concentration of Him's DNA in your system never exceeded more than half of your genetic makeup, which makes me think that 49% might be maximum amount of influence Him's DNA can have on you. Meaning that the other 51% of your makeup is from Blossom's DNA. The first time your six met, I assume you and your brothers attacked instantly, which would be expected, but you stopped for some reason you didn't understand before you finished, correct?"

Brick glanced sideways at Blossom to see her staring wide eyed at him, then lowered his gaze to the floor. "…Y-yeah," Brick answered nervously.

"Well, the reason you three couldn't finish off my girls is because while Him is the essence of evil, my girls are the essence of pure good, meaning that their DNA is what caused you to stop, just as Him's is what cause you to start."

Brick's eyebrows knitted together; he still found it strange that the professor was able to have such a civil conversation with the same boys who had wanted to kill his daughters.

"Right…" Brick turned to see that Butch was now awake, "This science junk is so confusing."

Brick sighed and rolled his eyes; Butch was fine.

"Oh, and another thing you should know. Him's DNA caused a few unusual mutations in your DNA. For one thing, his blood caused the change in the girls DNA that was given to you, making you boys."

Brick turned to Blossom and smirked; she had thought he was lying because of that point earlier. He noticed her look of defeat as he turned back to the professor.

"And Chemical X seems to have fused with Him's DNA, which is why when you were under the containment ray's effect you didn't feel as much, if any, pain."

Brick thought for a moment. It was nice to have all this cleared up, but there was still one more thing he wanted to know, "Um… Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Why… why do we want to hurt the girls? Why them?" Mojo had attempted to create an explanation for them yesterday, but not only did Brick have little confidence or respect for the monkey, he also wanted a more scientific answer.

The professor smiled weakly, "Well, it could be for one of three reasons. One, it could be that the evil essence of Him's DNA makes you want to attack those who are good."

Brick shook his head, "I don't think that's it Professor." After all, the professor was obviously good, but they didn't want to attack him. And besides, "We only want to attack out counterparts, so that doesn't work."

The professor nodded, "Yes, so reason two, because Him wanted the girls destroyed, some of his desires were carried over with his DNA."

Brick sighed, "But wouldn't that still mean that we would want to hurt all three of them instead of just our counterparts?"

"That would be true," the professor agreed, "Which makes me think it's the last option. Him's DNA must have cause the mutation when mixed with the girls and caused the innate desire to attack the Powerpuff who's DNA you share."

Brick glanced at the ground again, his eyes unfocused as he though. A small lump formed in his throat as he thought of the times his and his brothers had attacked the girls.

"But there is still one thing that puzzles me…" the professor trailed off, rubbing his chin.

Brick lifted his head, "Yeah?"

The professor's hand fell to his side, "Just what happened to you two after Butch dropped off Blossom?"

Brick glanced over to Butch who was looking at him too. Brick sighed almost inaudibly, "Sorry…"

Butch smiled lightly and they turned back to the professor who was still looking for an answer to his question.

"I-I…" Brick stuttered and hung his head. "…I attacked Butch."

The room fell silent. Brick glanced up from under his bangs to see everyone in the room staring wide eyed at him. Buttercup seemed shocked, Blossom surprised, and Bubbles scared. Boomer's mouth parted slightly in astonishment. Brick didn't have the heart to look up at the professor.

Then he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the professor smiling, "Thank you Brick."

Brick's eyebrow furrowed in confusion.

The professor dropped his hand from Brick's arm, "You'd been in contact with Blossom for so long before you reached here that you weren't able to calm down right away, and thus went after Butch in Blossom's place. It really is a wonder you didn't attack her instead."

Brick peeked over at Blossom warily. Her expression still appeared surprised, but that was probably just because she hadn't been awake for the trip home. Brick pressed his lips together and stared at the ground.

"Professor," Buttercup whined, "can we have dinner now!"

The professor turned to his daughters, "Oh, right. Yes, let's go upstairs."

Bubbles, Buttercup, and somehow Blossom flew up the stairs with the professor and Boomer behind them.

"Hey! I want dinner too!" Butch yelled. "And can we have our shirts back now!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	12. Chapter 12: Solution

**Thank you to all my readers! I'm sorry for the delay; I've finally gotten all my old stuff from our old computer onto this one, so I hadn't gotten around to writing in a little while. I'm sorry this chapter is a little short, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. And also, I'm excited to type the next one. I've been looking forward to chapter 13 for a while. ^^**

"Thanks," Brick hopped down from the iron plate and rubbed his wrists. It felt nice to finally have the cuffs off. He felt something strange on his cheek and reached up to brush it off when his hand came into contact with a strange material plastered just below his right eye. As he pressed his fingers against it, he felt a strange sting from a cut. It must have been a bandage.

Blossom nodded meekly and floated back a few steps, eyeing Brick with caution.

Brick's eyes fell to the floor. Now that she finally was giving him a little distance, it made him feel… strange, like he was being ostracized. He'd never thought that Blossom might actually realize just how very much she should fear him one day, but he just shook his head lightly. He knew it was for the best. Even then he could still feel Him's influence. No matter how faint, he knew it was there.

Brick turned to watch as Bubbles unfastened Butch's shackles and his eyebrows knitted together. Why had Blossom been the one to free him? She seemed so concerned about the distance between them now, why would she release him when she understood what it could have triggered?

Brick glanced sideways at his counterpart to see her gazing up at him from under her bangs, then quickly dropped her eyes and turned her head away. She still looked frightened, still wary. Did this mean she trusted him now?

Brick smiled lightly. No, that couldn't be it; how can you trust someone who's out to kill you. He'd been foolish to think he'd ever be able to earn her faith, especially after all he'd done.

She surprised him be speaking, "W-we should go up…"

Brick looked back up and nodded. Butch fell to his feet beside him, scanning over his brother curiously, "You alright Dude?"

Brick glanced over to Butch, then back at the floor, "Yeah…" After he answered, Brick briefly considered Butch might have been asking if he was alright with Blossom standing so close, but he quickly shrugged it off. It was the same answer either way; after all that he'd been through; standing a few feet away from his counterpart was almost effortless. Almost. But he knew Butch, and probably Boomer too, might not be able to take it nearly as well. Not yet anyway.

Then it dawned on him; the professor had never explained how Boomer had been able to stand next to Bubbles without feeling anything.

He quickly turned back to Blossom, "Do you know what… uh, know how Boomer…" He wasn't really sure how to ask what he wanted; asking these sorts of questions was never easy.

But Blossom smiled in understanding and shook her head, remaining silent. Brick's eyes fell back to the floor; so _now_ she knew not to speak to him. Now that he could probably handle it alright.

"He'll explain it when we go upstairs," Bubbles answered, floating back over to the door atop the staircase.

"Well let's get going then." Butch said eagerly as he began to float off the ground to join Bubbles, and then noticed Boomer standing in the doorway at the top of the stairs.

"What about their clothes?" he asked.

Bubbles turned back to the brothers with a look of confusion on her face as she thought about Boomer's question. Brick rolled his eyes as he was hit with a lump of red fabric.

"There!" He pulled the cloth off his face to see Buttercup standing next to the door, Boomer pressed against the wall behind her to make room. He looked rather frightened and watched cautiously as she left. Brick turned to see Butch's head covered by his sweater. Brick sighed and pulled his sweater on over his head. Butch did the same, but more hastily. Probably excited to eat.

"Okay, ready!" Butch eagerly took off after Bubbles as Brick and Blossom followed more slowly. Brick glanced back to see Blossom staring at the floor as she hovered, rubbing her arm shyly. This was too strange; Blossom, the loud, suspicious leader who had yelled at him till both their faces were red, was now too timid to even peep. Brick was tempted to reassure her that it was okay for her to talk and that he was becoming more and more accustomed to her presence, but decided against it just as he opened his mouth to speak, closing it quickly. Maybe she just needed some time to think…

As they reached the top of the stairs, one by one they landed and walked through the doorway. Brick followed as he was led to the kitchen by Bubbles and Boomer right behind her. He raised an eyebrow as he scrutinized his brother's expression. He looked one hundred percent normal, not even a bead of sweat. How had he done it? What did the professor do?

"Ah, there you are." Brick's head snapped up at the sound of the professor's voice. He gestured to the chairs around the table he was sitting at, "Why don't you guys sit down," he smiled.

Brick grinned awkwardly back. It made him feel uncomfortable being in someone else's house, especially considering how clean everything was. The kitchen was practically glowing, the marble counters clear and the glass doors washed. The ivory cabinets only added to the effect. This house was nothing like Mojo's mess of a lab.

Brick walked over to the table and took a seat next to Butch with Blossom on his right. He noticed as she scooted her chair a few inches away. He pretended to ignore her.

"Please, you should take a sandwich. You boys must be starving," the professor offered. Brick glanced up at the large plate of assorted sandwiches that sat in the middle of the table. He hadn't realized it before, but he now grasped just how ravenous he was as he stomach rumbled slightly. Now that he thought about it, he'd never eaten _anything_ before. Neither had his brothers.

Butch dived in, grabbing three turkey sandwiches; two in one hand and a half eaten one held up to his face.

Brick glanced over to Boomer and Bubbles, who sat across from him, as they reached at the same time for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then both withdrawing their hands when they saw the other one. Brick chuckles lightly to himself; they really were exactly the same.

Brick reached over and grabbed the sandwich closest to him: bologna and mustard. He nibbled on it lightly at first and then took larger bites. The taste was wonderful, and it made him feel more energized. After he was half finished with his sandwich, he remembered his question and look up at the professor, who sat between Bubbles and Butch. Brick swallowed quickly so he'd be able to speak coherently.

"Professor, you never explained what…uh, you did to help Boomer," he pressed.

The professor raised his eyebrows in confusion, "I didn't?" Brick's eyebrows knitted together and he shook his head slowly.

The professor smiled, "Well, then I guess it's a good thing Buttercup hasn't come back from upstairs yet."

There was a gagging sound and Brick turned to see Butch coughing into his elbow. He'd choked on his food after hearing the professor's nonchalant response.

The professor reached into his pocket, "I'm glad you reminded me Brick." He fiddled around until he produced two watches, both black with green and red straps. Brick and Butch grabbed their color-coated wristwatches and examined them more closely. Although they appeared to be digital watches, they were obviously more complicated that a regular clock.

"I would put yours on right away if I were you Butch," the professor warned and Butch quickly fastened the device onto his wrist. Brick watched as he did and the monitor sprung to life in flashes of green. A few bars appeared on the face, along with a few other additions that didn't make much sense to Brick. Butch twisted his hand back and forth as his inspected it.

"I must say though Brick," Brick turned his head back to the professor. "The way you're acting, I was sure I had given you your watch already. Is coping with Blossom really so easy now?"

Brick bit his lower lip. It was true; it was much easier for him now, but now that he was thinking about it he could feel the burn in his veins as his heart pulsed. He didn't want to say it was still hard however, but he knew a large part of it was the way Blossom was doing her best to remain undetectable.

Brick sighed, "It does still take some effort, but it's not nearly as bad as before."

The professor smiled warmly, "That's good to hear. After a little more time you may not even need the watch."

Brick glanced down at the mechanism in his hand as Butch asked the question, "So what does it do?"

"This will help you to control your power," he explained, pointing at the watch on Butch's wrist. "The three bars register your fluctuation of Chemical X, Him's DNA, and your own exertion. As the meter rise, you can see how overcome you are by your power, but the watches themselves also contain a few elements similar to the containment ray downstairs, which causes your powers to dissipate. However, if something goes wrong and your powers surges, the watch will start to beep and transmit a signal to the other two. That way you'll know if your brothers are having any trouble."

"…K-kay…" Butch replied, still not fully understanding.

The professor sighed, "I guess a practical test will help to explain things a little more." He turned back to the staircase behind him, "Buttercup!"

The green Powerpuff floated down the stairs and landed next to her sisters. "Yeah?" she asked, her arms folded together.

The professor turned back to Butch, "Now check your watch."

Both Butch and Brick turned to see that the lower of the bars on the watch had extended a small amount, just barely longer than the other two.

"You see, the bars will extend the closer you are to your counterparts, but they should keep you under control. You see Brick, I wouldn't have been able to create these without your help. I needed the data from your field test."

Brick gaze at the watch one more time before slinging it around his right hand and fastening it just below his palm. He waited a second and his breathe caught as the watch began to glow. For a second, his mind when blank in shock and he just stared blankly at his wrist.

"Brick?"

Instantly, Brick became aware again, but everything felt different, foreign. He hadn't felt the way he did just then in a while, maybe not sense he was first created a few days ago.

He felt nothing.

No pain.

No poison.

No agony.

Sweat nothingness.

"Brick?" Blossom asked again. He turned to his counterpart; he had to be sure of it. He stared right into her eyes, willing his other half to react, to growl, to cry out in suffering, yet his head remained clear and unclouded.

"Brick, are you okay?" Blossom questioned and Brick smiled. Even her voice failed to anger him.

He turned back to the professor, "Great invention Professor. It's a perfect success."

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	13. Chapter 13: Discussion

**Sorry for the wait! ^^ Here's chapter 13! Hope you enjoy it!**

_Brick's mind felt hazy, clouded, as he lunged back and forth, once then again, over and over. He could feel his blood race, but his head was too foggy to fully comprehend the situation. He felt his arms whip around in various directions, trying and failing to make contact with an unknown target. He experienced the rush of wind brushing his face as he streaked back around, colliding with his goal and pounding into the ground. He rose slowly, grinning widely at his victory, just before everything clicked. _

_He'd seen this before._

_He looked down at the body that lay motionless before him, splattered with blood which stained her uniform a darker shade of red. Her mouth was slightly open from the shock, both eyes still staring off past him, past the world and into the next. Her limbs stayed limp at her sides against her crumpled body._

_Blossom._

_Brick glanced down, his shirt much too dark compared to its original color, tarnished with a crimson fluid that wasn't his own. He stared wide eyed at his hands, drenched with Blossom's blood. The blood running through his veins grew hot as the monster inside him growled in endorsement, almost like a demon's purr. _

_Brick fell to his knees, his gaze never veering from his palms, the warm, scarlet liquid dripping down between his fingers._

_N-no…_

NO!

Brick jolted awake, panting heavily. Sweat trickle down his forehead, his hands shaking. He felt like he was burning, adrenaline pulsing through him simply because of his nightmare. He forced himself to breathe more evenly. It… it shouldn't bother him _that_ much. It was just Blossom.

Brick peeked up from under the lip of his cap to meet a pair of rosy pink eyes staring back at him, their light penetrating the darkness. After a moment, their bearer rose slowly from her seat against the wall across from him and crept forward.

Brick's heart sped, slight amounts of poison seeping in. He wished he still had his watch with him, but the professor had told them the watches may malfunction under the containment rays effect. He'd insisted that Brick and his brothers spend the night there as to keep them away from Mojo, but they would have to sleep in the basement under the effects of the laser. Probably because the professor still didn't quite trust them completely; the ray also restricted their movements as well as their powers. However, the watches were stronger. Now that they were gone, Brick had become hyper aware of even the slightest change in his genetic makeup.

Brick flinched slightly as Blossom approached. She stopped as he did, remaining back a few feet. "Do I bother you?" she asked in a whisper.

Brick instantly shook his head, continuing to eye her cautiously. He knew that wasn't true; after the dream he'd just experienced his blood was racing much too fast, in spite of the ray. He felt shameful for how he had acted in his dream, pained that he'd attacked her so easily. But he just shook his head, attempting to put in out of his mind.

Blossom stepped forward a few more paces before she was directly in front of Brick. She crouched down to meet him at eye level, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Brick shook his head again and Blossom lowered herself onto the floor in front of him, sitting back on her heels. For a moment they just started at each other in awkward silence. Brick shut his eyes and groaned slightly at the slight rush it had given him when he had looked at his counterpart.

Blossom quickly dropped her eyes down to her hands in front of her, "Sorry."

Brick glanced up with a slight glare on his face, "For what?"

Blossom blinked in confusion as she twiddled her thumbs, "For… uh, um…"

Could this _really _be the same Powerpuff that had told him off just a few hours ago, so timid and shy?

After a moment, Brick understood what she was getting at. He sighed and leaned his head against the wall behind him, letting it fall sideways so he stared off into space, "That isn't something you need to apologize for." She was the _last_ person he needed sympathy from in that area.

But Blossom just shook her head lightly, "No, I'm…. I'm sorry I didn't believe you before."

Brick shrugged, "You had no reason to." Normally he would have snapped at her for the way she had treated him before, but he was so guilt-ridden now, speaking to a person in real life that he had slaughtered in fantasy. It gave him an eerie feeling.

"Are you feeling okay?" Brick glanced forward at Blossom's question to see that her eyebrows were knitting together. "What's up? You don't sound anything like the Brick I was arguing with this morning."

Brick smirked and shrugged again. "I don't know…" he tried to sound nonchalant. He knew he still felt guilty, still shell-shocked. He shouldn't let his dream get to him too much; Blossom would notice. "You're not acting quite like yourself either," he countered in an effort to change the subject. "What are you acting so nervous about?"

She seemed to be taken by surprise from Brick's remark; she ceased playing with her fingers and let them fall to her lap, "I... I didn't know it hurt you so much, and I just… you know, wanted to be careful."

Brick shut his eyes and grinned, laughing lightly through his teeth, "Yeah, I guess you would be kinda scared of me."

"Yeah right," Brick opened one eye to glace and Blossom who now had her arms folded together. Despite her words, Brick could see a ting of fear in her eyes. "You're just one of Mojo's experiments. Why should I be afraid of you? Mojo could never make anything useful."

Brick smirked, so he _wasn't _the only one who though the chimp was a chump. He sat up and placed his arms back atop his knees, folded together. "Well, as true as that sounds, me and my brothers are an exception. Probably the only one."

Blossom rolled her eyes, "Right, and how it that?"

He grinned arrogantly, "Maybe because I was made from you?"

Blossom's eyebrows smoothed, her expression clearing as her arms fell. "That…" She groaned, glowering down at her hands, "That _still_ can't be right…"

Brick shrugged, "Blossom, even the _professor_ told you. I _really_ am made from your DNA."

Blossom pushed off the ground with her hands as she stood up. "But it _isn't_ possible…" she complained, placing her hands on her hips.

Brick glared up at her. Why couldn't she just accept this? "Do you think there's a science text book somewhere that says little girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice!" he challenged.

Blossom glared down at him harshly before hovering off to the other side of the laboratory. She landed soundlessly next to a bookshelf, scanning the titles on the bindings.

Brick peered over a sleeping Boomer and raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What are you-"

He stopped abruptly as he watched an unknown object fly straight towards his face. He managed to catch it just before it made contact with his forehead, realizing it was a book from the shelf as he glanced at the title on the fastening, The Complete Works of Professor Utonium. It was a _very_ small book.

An instant later, Blossom was standing before him again, "Page 73."

Brick's eyebrows knitted together as he flipped through the book. _69… 71… 73._ He stared at the page intently. Sure enough, it contained the formula to create the Powerpuffs, even down to brand of sugar he had used.

Brick rolled his eyes and closed the book, handing it to a very smug looking Powerpuff before him. She took it back and hovered away to place it back on the shelf, smiling as she did. Brick smirked in response, happy to see that she was still the same stubborn Powerpuff he'd fought with that morning, regardless of how she had acted at the beginning of their conversation.

"So why are you down here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Blossom shook her head as she came to sit back down in front of him. "My sisters and I wanted to keep an eye on you guys, so we came down here after the professor fell asleep. We tried to get Bubbles to stay in bed though. We didn't want to risk her getting hurt."

Brick glanced back behind Blossom, only just noticing that her sisters were leaning against the same wall she had been, asleep. He felt his head cock slightly at her statement, "What's the point in that? We're already under the ray. You guys don't need to guard us too. And don't you think you're a little worse off than Bubbles after the dinosaur attack?"

"Well… let's just say it was an extra precaution," she smiled. "And I guess you could say old habits die hard when it comes to protecting Bubbles. Thanks for helping me earlier by the way. Not that you needed. I could have handled it myself."

Brick snorted, "Hey right. You couldn't even stand." He wouldn't have helped if he hadn't needed to; like the professor had mentioned before, his wouldn't have reacted the way he did.

She turned away, her arms folded together across her chest, "It wasn't that bad. Not bad enough for-" She stopped speaking midsentence.

"For?" Brick urged.

Blossom glanced back at him and sighed, dropping her arms, "For you to bring me back. You really didn't need to… Not it if was that hard."

Brick just shrugged, "It's no big deal." He didn't have the heart to tell her exactly what he went through on the trip home, and then with his break down afterwards.

Blossom reached out and placed her hand on top of Brick's. At first it felt warm, but as poison rushed though him, her hand quickly began to feel ice cold. He watched as her calm features twisted to those of horror as the glow of his heated eyes reflected on her face, casting a crimson light across her cheeks.

Brick groaned, quickly pulling his hand away and swiping it over his eyes. His lids felt like they'd been burning.

"I'm so sorry!" Blossom apologized quickly, pulling her hand back.

Brick's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head, "I _told _you that it wasn't something you needed to worry about."

"But-"

She stopped when Brick's unwavering gaze caught her eye, "You don't need to apologize Blossom. It's my problem, not yours." Then his eyes warmed as the glow began to fade, a slight grin spreading across his face, "I'll be fine."

Blossom just stared at him for a moment, before nodding sleepily and standing up again, "I should probably head back over to my sisters."

Brick's eyes fell for a split second before he looked back up and nodded with a smile. Blossom waved slightly as she left, but she still seemed a little worried.

"Blossom," Brick called quietly in order not the wake the others. She turned back to him with a curious expression. "You sure you're okay?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a bad dream, but I'm much better now."

Brick's eyes widened. Could she have had a nightmare about him? And if she had, was it similar to his? He quickly shook the thoughts away; it was arrogant of him to entertain the notion that Blossom would have a dream involving him.

Blossom sat back down between her sisters and curled up, attempting to fall asleep again. After a moment, Brick did the same, wishing desperately that he wouldn't have another nightmare before morning.

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	14. Chapter 14: Overview

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Sorry this chapter is a little short, but the next one should be longer. ^^ Hope you like it!**

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"…Butch?"

Brick opened his eyes slowly to see Buttercup standing on the far side of the room, tossing something up and down in her right hand while her left rested on her hip. He heard Butch groan and noticed as his head turned slightly. Buttercup looked slightly annoyed as she called her counterpart again.

"…Butch?" she asked again, her voice mockingly kind. Just then Blossom and Bubbles rounded the corner, eyeing Brick and Boomer as they landed. Brick glanced sideways to see that Boomer was awake, and he was faring much better in Bubbles presents than he had in the past. He turned to meet Brick's gaze and they smiled at each other, both realizing how much easier it was getting to be near the Powerpuffs.

"Butch… WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTY!" Buttercup chucked the small object she'd been playing with, striking Butch right in the middle of his forehead.

"ACK!"

Butch stared wide-eyed, his eyes crossed in a futile effort to see that his watch had smacked into his head, his teeth bit tightly from the surprise and pain. Brick chuckled at his expression

"Don't you think you should be a little gentler Buttercup? The professor would be mad if his watch broke." Blossom mentioned, tossing Brick his watch as well, but with much less force than Buttercup had used. Brick looked back in time to hold up his hand to catch it, unlike Butch. Bubbles did the same for Boomer, who cupped his hands together in front of him to catch it tenderly. They quickly strapped theirs on as Buttercup folded her arms together and huffed, "I still don't see why they're here…"

Bubbles sidestepped around her grumpy sister. "Try being a little nicer Buttercup," she advised as she came to stand in front of Boomer, one hand extended to help him up. Brick watched as he accepted the offer without difficulty, but he seemed… nervous. It looked like some of the color had drained from his face. Bubbles too; despite her kind offer, she seemed a little afraid of something.

Brick positioned himself to stand next to them, but was surprised to see another hand appear in front of his face. He looked up to see Blossom at the other end smiling. He grinned, grabbing her hand as he pulled himself up.

As he stood, Buttercup stomped over to Butch, who had just finished securing his watch. He looked up as Buttercup raised a hand. Brick raised his eyebrows in surprise; he hadn't expected her to do as her sisters asked. Then Buttercup swung her hand down, smacking Butch on the cheek, "Get up ya lazy ruff!"

Brick sighed and rolled his eyes as Buttercup flew upstairs; that was just like Buttercup. Butch scowled to himself, rubbing his cheek. It had already started to redden. Bubbles stepped over to him and helped him up in Buttercup's place. As she did, Blossom paced over to the staircase, "Let's go upstairs. Professor said breakfast would be ready soon." She spun around and floated up the stair case.

Brick walked past Boomer, who was waiting for Bubbles to finish helping Butch up, and hopped up the stairs after Blossom. "Hey Bloss!" he called.

She stopped and turned back to Brick, her eyes tight and her mouth opening to yell at him.

"-UM! Blossom!" He corrected, remembering how she'd gotten upset before when he'd called her 'Bloss'. He was relieved to see her calm slightly, "Are your sisters okay?"

Blossom's expression quicky turned angry again, "Why, are you mad that Buttercup slapped your brother?" She turned away and continued to float up the stairs.

Brick followed quickly behind, "Well, there's that, but I was also wondering about Bubbles. It seemed like she was acting a little… strangely."

For some reason unknown to Brick, this made Blossom come to a halt at the doorway and land slowly in front of him. She remained silent, her head down and her back to him.

"Blossom?" Brick asked again, "Are _you _okay?" She seemed to be fretting over something as well. Was she still not over her nightmare?

Blossom whirled around quickly to face him, a fake smile plastered on her face that didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, and don't worry. Bubbles and Buttercup are fine too." She twirled around again and started walking down the hallway.

But Brick was still worried and curious, "Did something happen last night?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing," she replied, not bothering to look back at him. He figured he wouldn't press the subject any further.

They rounded the corner and strolled into the kitchen. The professor was at the stove flipping pancakes and Buttercup was sitting at the table with her breakfast. She poked at it with her fork, her head resting on her hand. Blossom stopped for a moment before sitting down and Brick glanced to Buttercup to see the two sisters share a look. A second later, Buttercup returned to lightly stabbing her pancake with little interest as Blossom pulled out the chair she had sat in the night before, Brick grabbing the one next to her.

As he sat down, Bubbles, Boomer, and Butch enter, sitting in the same spots they had for dinner; Butch next to Brick, and Boomer between Bubbles and Blossom. They each stared blankly at the plates in front of them, occasionally cutting out a piece and sticking it in their mouths. Brick glanced up every so often, surprised to see that his brothers, along with the Powerpuffs, remained silent. Even Butch, who'd gotten hit in the head and smacked on the cheek, hadn't spoken to Buttercup all morning.

"What a lovely morning this is!" the professor commented cheerfully, taking his seat between Butch and Buttercup. He noticed when no one responded, looking around the table to see that most of the meals remained uneaten. "Do you not like the pancakes?"

Brick glanced up and shook his head and muttered a quiet, "No, they're fine." He heard the light echoes of the others responses.

Then he noticed as Blossom's head snapped up to the sound of a strange beeping. "I'll get it!" she yelled, racing upstairs, her hair flapping in Brick's face.

"What was that about?" Butch asked as Brick readjusted his cap, which had practically blown off from the whirlwind of Blossom's hair. "I heard that noise yesterday. Is it bad?"

"It's the hotline," Bubbles answered softly. "It means we have to go save the day soon."

"Why don't you take the boys with you?" the professor suggested. "They could probably be of help to you girls and you can show them the city."

Buttercup glowered down at her plate, the others remaining expressionless. Then Blossom raced back in, "Girls! The bank's being robbed again!"

Buttercup stood and punched her fist into her hand, "Alright! Time for some action!"

Brick turned around, placing his arm over the back of the chair, "Would you like us to come with?"

Blossom just stared back at Brick, considering his offer. As she did, her eyebrows began to knit together slightly, unsure of what to decide.

"Come on Leader Girl! We gotta go! Make up your mind!" Buttercup yelled, opening the front door.

Blossom gritted her teeth together, "Fine, you guys can come!"

The boys rose from their seats. Buttercup seemed irritated by Blossoms decision, but eager to leave and took off without waiting. Blossom raced after her, Brick following close behind. He heard Bubbles as she said her goodbye to the professor before she followed them with Boomer and Butch bringing up the rear.

"So," Brick began as he neared Blossom, "Does this mean that you trust us now?"

Blossom's eyes tightened and she shook her head, "It means I don't want you and your brothers alone with the professor unsupervised."

"We wouldn't do anything to the professor!" Brick reassured her, insulted by the idea that any of the ruffs would do anything to harm him. "But then why wouldn't you just have Bubbles or Buttercup stay behind to watch us? Isn't it a hassle to bring us along if you don't even trust us enough to stay home without causing trouble?"

Blossom turned to glare at Brick right in the eyes. "I would never send one of my sisters to watch all three of you by herself," she answered sternly. "And we fight as a team."

Brick sighed; it made him feel very unwanted to hear that Blossom suspected the worse if a Powerpuff were to stay behind with them. "Blossom, me and my brothers wouldn't hurt you or your sisters. Not on purpose."

Blossom didn't respond; she turned her face away so he couldn't see her and increased her speed.

Brick did the same. "What happened last night with your sisters? You weren't like this when I talked to you."

"It doesn't matter!" she insisted. She sprinted forward, leaving Brick alone. He stared absentmindedly at the ground. What was going on with the puffs and his brothers? They were all acting strangely.

Before Brick could put anymore thought into the matter, Blossom's pink streak began to descend, and he followed afterwards.

As he landed he heard Buttercup yell into the bank through a gaping hole in the wall, "Aw, come on! You again!"

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	15. Chapter 15: Hypothesis

**Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! It's really helpful knowing what everyone thinks of the story so far. Now, I will point out that something Brick figures out at the end of the chapter will be explained in more depth a little further on in the story. Anyway, hope you like it! ^^ **

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"Aw, come on! You again!"

"And just what do you mean by 'you again'?" came a whiny voice from inside the building. Brick trailed behind Blossom as she flew over to her sister. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Brick stood next to Blossom and Buttercup, staring into the bank through what was once a wall, surrounded by broken bricks and cement. Inside, all the patrons and employees had their hands raised, all staring at the girl in the center of the room. Her curly red hair was tied back into two bushy pigtails at the far ends of her head. She wore white leggings with tall, black boots and a yellow dress that seemed similar to the Powerpuffs', with the same black strip across the middle. She also bore a crown atop her head. "Princess," Blossom began, "Come on, we do this all the time."

"So?" the girl complained, folding her arms together, "I _am_ the bestest bad guy in all of Townsville. You should show me more respect than just 'you again'."

"Princess, what's the point? You're rich anyway, why steal money?" Blossom asked. She sounded annoyed and overly tired of the bratty girl.

"Because you wouldn't let me be a Powerpuff girl!" Princess griped, pointing a finger at Blossom in particular.

"Yeah, yeah. It's all our fault! We know!" Buttercup yelled exasperated as Bubbles, Butch, and Boomer landed.

Brick just stared at the bratty little girl in confusion and irritated. "They called you out here just to deal with this little brat?" he asked, gesturing to Princess.

"Brat!" Princess shrieked. "Nobody calls me a brat!" Brick watched with half interest as Princess tapped a jewel at the center of her crown.

"Brick!" Blossom called as a beam of white light shot straight for Brick. Before he realized what was going on, he instinctively shot at it with his laser vision. There was a small blast, causing some of the dust from the ceiling to slowly float to the ground. He glanced back to see Princess staring at him, jaw dropped, before running up to him and hugging him so hard he practically fell over, his eyes widened and the corners of his mouth turned down in a grimace.

"You're just like the Powerpuff girls!" she squealed. Dazed for a moment, Brick stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance and looking down at the little monster of a girl that now clung to his waist.

"Uh, can I help you?" he asked with just a hint of sarcasm, as he struggled to pry her arms away gently. As soon as he loosened her grip enough to escape, he took a step back, and she began hopping up and down in front of him. He eyed her cautiously with a slight sneer spread across his face, then turned as his brothers came over.

"Uh, so you're Princess, right?" Butch asked as he and Boomer treaded through the rubble to where Brick was standing. As they neared, Princess turned to them and began to squeal again, causing them to stop in their tracks and look up with wide-eyed expressions, as well as making Brick flinch and lean away from the girl.

"You must be the other Powerpuff boys!"

"That's Rowdyruff!" both Butch and Boomer corrected instantaneously with hard tones, but it didn't seem to faze Princess; she just continued to bounce in place. "Can I be a Rowdyruff girl?"

Brick thought for a moment, realizing that he couldn't have possibly heard her right, "Excuse me?"

"I wanna be a Rowdyruff girl!" she repeated, her eyes lighting up. "Those pesky Powderpuffs wouldn't let me be a Powerpuff girl," Princess pointed back towards the girls, who each shared the same glower on their faces, before carrying on with her explanation, "But you guys are just like them! So can I join your group? I'll make a great Rowdyruff girl!" Brick's eyes widened as he realized he _had_ heard Princess correctly the first time.

"We're the Rowdyruff Boys! BOYS!" Butch yelled, still with no effect on the brat, whose constant jumping refused to halt.

"Can I be a Rowdyruff Boy?" she pleaded again with the slight alteration.

Boomer blinked in confusion, "But you're not a boy…"

And Butch crossed his arms, "And you're not rowdy."

"No, I think she's _very_ rowdy," Brick corrected, "But you still can't be a Rowdyruff boy… girl… it-thing."

"Please!" she begged, running over and hugging Boomer, who intern yelped and fell over into a pile of bricks from the shock of being tackled.

Brick turned back to the Powerpuffs, each of them looking equally annoyed, while Butch just stared in surprise as Boomer tried to wiggle away from Princess.

"Please?" she whined. "I wanna! I wanna! I wanna!" Brick watched as Boomer's expressions morphed from Princess' shrieking in his ear.

"Hey!" Butch stepped over and picked her up by the back of her dress collar with his right hand, which was still wrapped in bandages from yesterday when Brick brought Blossom back. Princess refused to let go of Boomer at first, but released her grip after a moment and, much to Boomer's relief, let him fall back to the ground.

Brick stepped over to where Butch stood, glaring Princess right in the eyes, "Look Princess, you just can't be a Rowdyruff Boy, you got it?"

"Why not?" she whined, crossing her arms.

"Cause you're just a spoiled brat!" Butch complained, dropping her at his feet. She just sat there for a moment before she began to sob.

"I… I'M GONNA TELL MY DADDY!" she screamed as she flew off, breaking each Rowdyruff's eardrums as she did. Poor Boomer, who was just starting to stand again, fell back into the debris from the shock. Butch's eye twitched a few times, while Brick desperately tried to cover his ears to block out the noise. As she darted out the gaping hole in the wall, another section of siding fell to the floor.

"Well, thanks for taking care of that, guys," Buttercup muttered coldly before whirling around to take off, moving away from the wall. Bubbles and Blossom glanced back at the Rowdyruffs, then turned to their sister.

"Hey! Wait up a sec!" Brick called as he darted over to them, flying instead of walking from all the rubble, landing quickly once he got to the crack in the wall. Buttercup was already hovering a few feet up.

"What's up with you guys?" he asked in confusion, "You've been acting strange all morning." As he pointed this out, Bubbles bit her lip and Blossom and Buttercup both stared at the ground. "You guys too," Brick added, turning back to his brothers as they stumbled back through the debris to join them. They both glanced up with surprise as he said this and then looked away.

Brick bit his lip and swallowed hard before he asked his question; he knew he could be completely wrong, but he had to know. "Blossom…" he started, "Y-you said something happened with you and your sisters last night…"

Blossom nodded, her eyes wide with curiosity. Her sisters seemed curious as well, Bubbles' nibbling on her lip died away and Buttercup was now staring at him, her facial expressions still hard.

"Bubbles… s-she had a nightmare too, just like you. Didn't she?" he asked. "And Buttercup too."

He watched as all three Powerpuffs' eyes widened simultaneously, each filled with shock. Bubbles and Blossom both turned to look at each other in surprise.

Buttercup floated down a foot or two, "How did you know about that?" she demanded, pointing a fist at Brick.

Brick bit his lip harder and closed his eyes for a minute as he thought of how to answer her question. After a moment of deliberation, he opened his eyes. He opened his mouth, but didn't speak right away, worried. He spoke in an unsure, yet honest tone, "…Last night, I… I had a bad dream. And I woke up in the middle of the night… And Blossom was there. And I saw you two," he muttered, looking from Bubbles, to Buttercup, and then Blossom. "And Blossom was awake. And… we talked for a little while, and we went back to sleep. But, she did mention she'd woken up from a nightmare, just like I did. And I knew it was crazy to think this, but I thought it was strange that we'd both wake up _at the same time_ because we _both_ had a nightmare." Brick turned around to his brothers, "Butch, that's why you didn't say anything this morning, isn't it? When Buttercup hit you in the head with your watch, and when she slapped you. You didn't say a word."

Butch looked up for a moment before glancing away, his hands balling up into fists at his sides.

Brick stepped sideways so his whole body faced his brothers, instead of just his face, "You had the dream too, didn't you?"

Butch didn't answer at first, but nodded lightly after a moment.

Brick turned to Boomer, "Boomer?"

Boomer's eyes widened slightly, before they closed and he nodded too, "Y-yeah…"

Buttercup folded her arms together, "Th-that doesn't prove anything! So we all had bad dreams last night! So what? You don't even know what our nightmares were about!"

Brick turned solemnly back to the girls, "Well, if it makes you feel any better," he paused, "they say dreams where you die are good luck."

And with that, Buttercup floated all the way back to the ground, her jaw dropped and eyes filled with shock. Her expression was mirrored on both her sister's faces, each looking alarmed and frightened.

After a few seconds, Blossom stepped forward, "B-but that would mean…"

Brick pressed his lips together as he stared back at his counterpart, her eyes filled with fear. He sighed heavily, then looked back up to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry Blossom…" he murmured glumly. "It was different in my dream. I couldn't think at all, let alone do anything about it."

Instead of showing more fear after Brick confirming her suspicion of killing her in their dreams, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "But that's not possible…"

Oh, not this again.

Brick opened his mouth to protest, but then there was a huge crash farther down the road. The girls spun around just in time to see a colossal robot peek its head over the skyline, thrashing around the city.

All three Powerpuffs glowered at the machine, their stares never swaying as it approached.

"Mojo!"

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	16. Chapter 16: Artificial

**Okay, first off, I am very sorry this chapter is so short! I promise I will have the next chapter up soon and it will be much longer that this one! Anyway, I hope you like it even though it's short!**

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As the android stepped closer and closer, Brick could see the evil grin of the monkey who had created him and his brothers behind the glass dome that resembled Mojos' helmet atop the machine. Brick just gaped horror, his legs refusing to move when he wished to run away, his eyes never veering when he longed to turn. He was afraid of what conclusion Mojo would jump to, seeing the Rowdyruffs with the girls and _not_ attacking them. He _really_ wasn't in the mood for getting shocked today and he didn't want to have to try to fake a fight with the girls; they might just get confused and tip Mojo off to what happened yesterday. Brick glanced over to the girls, hoping they wouldn't say anything that might reveal too much.

Mojo's laughter rang through the streets, echoing though the amplifiers attacked to the massive robot, "Mwaahahaha! Powerpuff Girls! Today is the day I shall defeat you!"

The girls glowered back at the monkey's machine. Brick took a step back, attempting to creep away from Mojo's line of sight as slowly as possible as to not grab any unwanted attention.

"Oh look," Mojo turned to the Rowdyruffs, "It appears my boys managed to find you! How convenient!"

"C-convenient?" Boomer stuttered. Brick glanced back to see that both Butch and Boomer looked just as worried as he did.

"Why of course! Powerpuff girls, prepare to meet your demise!" Mojo lifted his hand from the controls, holding up the small remote he had used before, his toothy grin expanding.

Brick's eyes widened as he stared up at the devise, waiting for the shock. Mojo's thumb neared the remote, but this time it drifted passed Brick's red button, along with his brothers' blue and green ones.

Mojo pressed down on the black button at the center of the remote.

Brick's heart thudded in his chest, almost bursting out with fear as he waited to get electrocuted again, surprised when he did not. He was just about to turn back to his brothers to see if they had any reaction to the remote's signal, but before he had the chance a flurry of pain pulse though him.

Brick cry out as his body went limp and he fell to his knees, his legs and arms burning as shocks radiated though him. He brought his hands up, gripping at his scalp from under his hat and hair, his head pounding as pulses of poison echoed though his head. His gritted his teeth together, shutting his eyes as his body heated up with the newfound energy. He could vaguely make out a beeping sound coming from his right hand, just above his ear. He slowly forced his shaking arm away from his head and glanced down at his wrist. His vision was hazy, but he could make out the blur of red that was his bar as it continued to rise, along with blue and green glows flashing behind it.

Brick glanced up warily to his brothers, a green blur he could only assume was Butch radiating extensively from where his hands should be with a blue silhouette standing next to him, both their faces shrouded in light and sparks flying from their sides.

Brick could just barely make out the distant laughing of the monkey pulling the strings. "Now, my boys! ATTACK!"

Brick's breathe caught in his throat as another wave of pain flooded over him from the artificial reaction Mojo's device force on him, his head pounding faster and harder than before, accompanied by his personal demon's call.

_Kill…_

Brick shut his eyes tightly as his legs forced him to rise. He thought he be blown away by the wild force of both Butch and Boomer rushing past him, the wind of their launches blowing his hair in his face. Then before he realized it, he found himself streaking ahead towards Blossom.

She hadn't been paying attention, her interest drawn to Mojo behind the controls. She quickly whipped around to face Brick, her arm crossing in front of her face as his fist rammed her wrists. Her expression remained unchanged, focused and calculating.

Brick compellingly threw a few more punches at his counterpart before she took to the air. He quickly shot up after her, then forced himself to slow considerably, his body screaming at him to move. But had to tell Blossom how to make him and his brothers stop.

"…Mo…jo," he groaned. His throat tightened, his voice becoming strained and husky.

Blossom's eyebrows knitted together in confusion just before Brick rammed into her again, the hue around his glowing fists matching his eyes.

Then Blossom glanced down at his wrist in surprise, then darted upward, dodging Brick second punch. "Girls!" she yelled pointing up to Mojo's robot. "The remote!"

Both Bubbles and Buttercup glanced up from their own fights for a moment to hear Blossom's orders, both streaking toward her with their lethal counterparts just behind them.

"Bubbles! Sonic scream! Buttercup, " Blossom called as her sisters approached.

Bubbles stopped next to Blossom and opened her mouth as wide as possible, a high pitched cry flowing from her open lips. The sonic waves of the scream flowed slowly towards the robot as all three Rowdyruffs approached.

"Buttercup!" Blossom called as she approached with the boys just behind her, Butch being the closest with Boomer and Brick farther back. Brick attempted to stop, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't force himself to even slow down.

"Tornado Spin!"

Buttercup turned around to face the boys just before she began to twirl, her speed increasing rapidly until a massive whirlwind formed in front of them. Brick and his brothers were quickly sucked up by the wind, spinning rapidly, their sense of direction misleading them. As they spun, the dizziness caused Brick to calm slightly, despite the nausea.

After a few moment, Brick and his brothers were sent flying in the direction they had come in. Filled with confusion after being stuck in a twister, the Rowdyruff just soared absentmindedly until they came to an abrupt halt as they made contact with the ground.

Brick pushed himself out of the pieces of broken street and rubble, shaking his head to get the debris off his face and hair. Then he began to heat up again just as much as before, and he shot back in the direction he had come in to watch Bubbles shatter Mojo's glass dome with her scream. Then Blossom flew in and snatched away the remote control. As she did, Brick only had time to watch her float away with the control in hand before his vision went black and he collapsed onto the pavement.

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**I would have kept writing, but I felt it was kinda awkward to start up again after a blackout. You guys can thank my friend duckxduck for what the black button does. Originally it was just going to shock all three of them at once, but I started to realize that I was putting too much suspense in that area for it to only do that, so she helped me come up with some ideas. Anyway, I was hoping to wait a little longer before bring that out, but I really had no idea what the first family and enemy reunion would be like, so... yeah. MAGICAL, PROBLEM-SOLVING BLACK BUTTON TIME! ^^**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more!**


	17. Chapter 17: Deception

**Oh, and here's a little shout out to AnimeGurl013. ^^ Thanks for pointing out how much I use knitted, I noticed that I used it a lot before too and I was wondering how noticeable it was. Thanks for telling me! ^^ **

**And on another side note, I know the story has been very drama filled lately (much to the character's displeasure I'm sure) but things should settle down a little more in a few chapters, so I'm going to ask everyone to keep a favorite Powerpuff Girls episode in mind, because I might be asking for some suggestions later! ^^ I'll let you know when we get to that point.**

**Anyway, hope you like it!**

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In a flash of awareness, Brick's vision returned along with a weary aching in his limbs. He wasn't lying down as he was expecting, instead he was kneeling on all fours, one hand raised. He instantly realized he was gasping for air, sweet dripping down his face. Then his eyes began to focus on a figure just in front of him, positioned below him on the ground. Then he immediately jumped back in revulsion and terror, falling back with his knees in front of him and his palms firmly planted on the ground behind him.

Blossom was lying before him, unconscious.

Brick slowly stood up, the color draining from his face. He crept up to her, swatting down at her side. She was covered in bruises and scratches, blood spots and stains on her clothes as well as dirt and mud. Her dress was tearing at the ends, a hole forming under her arm. Her bow was ripped too, her hair matted and tangled with blood. The bandage that had been on her cheek was just barely clinging to her skin.

Brick just shook his head, trying to convince himself that it was all just a bad dream. How had this happened? The last thing he remembered was Blossom flying away with Mojo's remote. Why did he black out before?

"Dang it!"

Brick glanced up solemnly to see Butch stand next to Buttercup, who was knocked out in her own personal crater not far from Blossom. Bubbles was slightly farther back, with Boomer crying over her.

Brick bit his lip slightly as he turned back to Blossom. He nudged her head gently, but it only fell limply back into its nook in the ground. He grabbed her wrist and pressed his fingers against her vein to check for a pulse. He was slightly relieved to feel a delicate throb against his finger, and then placed her hand back on the ground before standing and walking over to Butch and Boomer.

Butch glanced up as he approached, his face shadowed with grief. His gaze was defiant, as though he wanted to attack someone when he knew that someone was himself. Brick eyed him dulled; he could only guess that his expression was somewhat similar to his brother's.

Without saying a word, Brick stepped past Butch, who had lowered his head and returned to glaring at Buttercup. He walked over to Boomer and crouched down next to him, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. Boomer lifted his head in surprise, tears streaming down his face. Brick could only imagine how he felt; he and Bubbles had just begun to become friends by that morning.

Brick pressed his lips together and patted Boomer's shoulder lightly. "Come on Boomer," he murmured, standing up.

As he did, a metallic screeching sound came from behind him. He turned along with Butch and Boomer to see a hatch in Mojo's robot open up and a ramp extend into the ground. The monkey stepped out laughing arrogantly, remote in hand.

Brick's eyes widened slightly for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed. After the girls had successfully stolen the first control Mojo had a spare, just like the time him and his brothers had tried.

Brick sighed and glanced back at Blossom before dropping his eyes to his feet. Mojo must have reactivated signal while he was out cold. That meant he wasn't awake enough to resist at all and the Him's blood running through him could do as it pleased without interference, causing his mind to remain blank from the unnatural stimulant Mojo had forced on them.

As Mojo approached, the sound of his incessant chuckling grew louder. "Yes! Yes!" he cheered. "The Powerpuff Girls have finally been defeated!"

Brick's glum expression never changed as he scanned over the three girls lying in the clearing. Despite what Mojo believed, this was a defeat in his eyes.

"What's the matter with your brother over there?" Mojo asked, gesturing towards Boomer. "Why is he crying? There is nothing to cry about! This is our greatest victory ever!"

Brick and Butch exchanged a tired and defeated look. They weren't really in the mood for coming up with an excuse for Boomer; both of their minds were fairly numb from the shock.

But Brick attempted to anyway. "He's… happy," he muttered, a slight smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "You know, tears of joy… and all that."

Mojo nodded in understanding. "You have a good point, after all this is a very beautiful moment," Mojo said in agreement, a tear coming to his eye as he smiled, quickly whipping it away.

Brick glanced back down to his counterpart, lying motionless in the dirt. Repulsion, disgust and pain swpet through him, but he kept his features hard so Mojo's suspicions wouldn't extent to him as well.

But the monkey simply continued his rant, "Now, that the Powerpuff Girls are finally gone for good, we can-"

Brick cut him off, "They're not dead."

After seeing Mojo's reaction to his statement, he regretted his interruption. He was happy however to see the looks of depression on his brothers faces be replaced by shock.

"They're what!" Mojo scratched.

"Really?" Butch asked, a small amount of hope in his eyes.

Brick nodded in surprise from both responses. "Yeah, Blossom has a pulse," he muttered, gesturing back to the pink Powerpuff behind him. "Didn't you guys check?"

Butch blinked in astonishment a few times, glancing between Buttercup and Brick before kneeling down next to his counterpart and placing two fingers against her neck. Boomer stared in awed silence, waiting for a verdict, while Mojo glared in anger, clenching his fists. After a moment, Butch looked back up at Brick, "She has a pulse too."

"What!" Mojo screamed.

Upon hearing this, Boomer quickly placed a hand on Bubbles' stomach and moved his head so his ear was next to her mouth, his eyes jumping along the ground as he listened. Then his head shot up, joy on his face, "Bubbles is still breathing!"

Brick smiled lightly, happy Boomer was comforted a little by this fact.

Unlike Mojo. "NO! They must be destroyed! For if they are not destroyed they will simply return, and foil my plains once again, and I cannot have that! That will not do! I can't have them interfering anymore! I-"

"Get to the point already!" Butch yelled.

"Destroy them! Now!" he shrieked.

Boomer looked up to Brick with worry while Butch just stared blankly back at Mojo. "We _can't_," Brick insisted.

"Well why not!" he complained.

A slight grin appeared on Brick's face. "Fine, you wanna know why? Go over and try to punch Buttercup," he muttered nonchalantly. Butch smiled lightly, understanding what Brick was trying to do.

"Maybe I will!" Mojo marched proudly over to the unconscious Powerpuff, balling his hand up into a fist, and swung at her head.

Just as he did, Butch's eye flared and he streaked to where Mojo stood, tackling him into the ground. After all the trouble Mojo had caused for them, Brick and Boomer were able to grin at the sight of the monkey being pile-driven into the ground despite their counterparts lying asleep in the street.

Mojo thrashed around in his recently-made pothole as Butch stood up, his eyes beginning to fade, "What was that for!"

Brick shrugged, "That's what happens when someone tried to attack our counterpart."

"Fine! Then kill them yourselves!" Mojo persisted.

Brick just rolled his eyes, "We can't do that either."

"WHY NOT!"

Brick looked back at Mojo with half interest, "We told you before that we couldn't. After we met them from the first time… remember?"

Mojo blinked in surprise, "Oh, right…" Then he spun around, his back to the boys, shouting into open air, "CURSES!"

Brick, Butch, and Boomer all shared a look as the monkey turned back to them and headed back towards his robot, "Alright boys, time to go home!"

Brick glanced up in surprise and saw both his brothers eyeing him with distress. Brick sighed; he'd forgotten about having a false home at Mojo's lab, and despite how much he did not want to go bad with the psycho monkey, he knew they had to. It would raise too much suspicion for him and his brothers if they stayed behind with the girls and even though Mojo was a beyond stupid primate, Brick was afraid of what the monkey might do to the Rowdyruffs if he found out they were plotting to run away with some help from the Powerpuff Girls.

"Alright," Brick muttered, glancing back at his brothers, "Let's go."

Butch took one last fleeting glance at Buttercup, before following Mojo up the ramp. Boomer took a little longer, standing from his seat next to Bubbles then walking after Butch.

Brick watched his brothers leave, scanning over all three girls one last time before joining them. He hoped by some miracle they would still listen to the Rowdyruffs even after all that happened, but he highly doubted it. He and his brothers would no longer be welcomed at the Utonium residence.

Brick sighed, turning his back to the Powerpuffs and went after Butch and Boomer who were standing in the doorway, waiting for him. When they saw him approaching, they turned and headed in. As he reached the entrance, Brick glanced back at Blossom. Then his eyes widened as he saw her stir.

She wrinkled her nose and turned her head from side to side, before propping herself up slowly onto her elbows. She coughed a few times, then glance up to meet Brick's frightened gaze. Now that she was awake Mojo might have him go after her again.

She rolled onto her knees, attempting to stand as she glared at him. Brick's jaw tightened in worry as she rose from the ground. He stood unmoving, praying that she wouldn't attack him, but he just turned back to the door, waving lightly as he did. Blossom took somewhat wobbly step forward, but Brick shook his head. He really didn't want Mojo to see her up and about. And it was time for him to leave.

Brick faced forward, walking into the machine, the ramp lifting and door closing behind him.

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**Well, it wasn't quite the much longer I had in mind at first... an extra 500 words or so, but I didn't think this part would be long enough for a chapter on its own and I figured it was a good ending point so... yeah. But I did get it up quicker this time! (I'm in a writing mood today! ^^)**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more!**


	18. Chapter 18: Confined

**Now this is a long chapter! First off, I'd like to thank everyone for such wonderful reviews! ^^ It really means a lot to hear that you are enjoying the story so far, and I do apologize for grammar and spelling mistakes. I have a few people helping me proofread, but they don't usually read it until it's already up, and my best proofreader is only on chapter 4… They have a lot of catching up to do… And also, just so everyone knows… there are still going to be plenty of chapters to come! ^^ I'm not sure if the story's even half way done yet…**

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Brick slumped next to his brothers against the robot wall, his mind still dazed. He felt his stomach lurch up and down as the android walked through town, watching the buildings rise and fall through the window to his left. He stared out absentmindedly.

What would he do if the Powerpuff Girls refused to help him and his brothers this time? He couldn't blame them if they did… especially after their latest incident. He was relieved that Blossom had figured out how to stop him and his brother's, but for all he knew she might have figured she had been wrong when they continued to fight after the girls stole the first remote.

Brick's eyes tightened as he peered through the glass, glaring at the city on the other side. If Mojo hadn't showed up, maybe Brick and his brothers would be free from him in a few days… Once again, that stupid monkey turned everything into a pain. If he hadn't come and spoiled everything…

Brick exhaled heavily, his breathe leaving a foggy mist on the window. He knew he shouldn't be blaming it all on Mojo, no matter how true it was. Then he thought back to the girls. Blossom had managed to wake up before they left, hopefully that meant the others would soon too. Brick hopped he hadn't hurt her too badly; especially sense he couldn't really remember what happened.

He let his mind wander, thinking back to the girls house. He'd miss living there with the girls and, their father of sorts, the professor. They'd welcomed them in, even after how badly their first encounter went, fed them, looked after them… And while he wasn't overjoyed about admitting it, he'd had fun hanging around the girls.

It made him smile now, thinking back to the time Buttercup had almost fried his cap off after bringing Blossom home, and being saved by Bubbles at the last second. It was fun to watch their expressions; Buttercup being shocked when she realized Brick had been telling the truth, and Bubbles' innocent curiosity to find him and Butch hooked up to the iron plates with wires.

He'd also miss arguing with Blossom, as hard as that seemed. True, it had been a tough fight, a fight he had probably just lost, but he loved challenges, preferably ones with less stress involved… but, oh well. Similar to last night, when they woke up after their nightmare, he'd thought it was funny how Blossom absolutely _needed_ to find the one book in the entire world that said how to make the Powerpuff girls after his sarcastic remark about not all science being set in stone.

Even Professor, despite his overwhelming curiosity with science, one that had cause Brick _very_ much pain, he had helped the Rowdyruffs out a great deal. And he had treated Brick and his brothers much differently than Mojo, giving them the privilege to walk where they please, instead of being zapped into cages, or electrocuted.

And it was all gone. The last day, he'd had a home, a family… sort of. And now… now he felt too ashamed to show his face to any of the Utoniums, ever again. Now all of that was taken away from the Rowdyruffs; like a dog that had just been rescued from a shelter being thrown back in its cage.

Brick's head jerked back as the robot stopped, banging against the metal wall behind him. He rubbed his head, wincing as he did.

"Alright boys!" Mojo called. The boys watched with little interest as he fell in through a hole in the ceiling of the cavity they were sitting in. He landed clumsily, come to rest on his stomach, his arms and legs sprawled out. He quickly stood up, brushing himself off. "Now! First off… where have you three been?" Mojo practically whined.

This caught their attention. Brick raised his eyebrows in surprise; Mojo sounded just like an overprotective mother, worried about her baby running off.

Butch shrugged, "We just did what you told us to do. We went off to find the Powerpuff girls."

Mojo threw his arms up in the air, "Yes, but _why_ didn't you come home last night, as to say what is the reason you did not return to my laboratory after said day had ended?"

Brick glanced over to his brothers who stared back at him with an equal amount of concern. After a moment, the same look of depression came back to grace Brick's features as he turned to Mojo, but before he could speak, Mojo continued his questions, "And what happened to you! You look awful! Butch, how did your arm get burned and why is Boomer covered in dirt! You guys are all covered in bruises! And Brick, why do you have a Lucky Captain Rabbit King bandage on your face?"

Butch and Boomer turned back to Brick with looks of amusement on their faces as Brick's eyebrows curved down in confusion. He reached up and pulled off the bandage, turning it around in his hand to see a picture of a huge pink, mustached bunny with a giant purple hat, blushing slightly.

Well, it's not like he'd ever gotten a chance to see it before…

Then he glanced over at Butch and Boomer to see the Mojo was right. Butch's arm hadn't quite finished healing yet from the day before, but it shouldn't be much longer till he could remove the rapping. And both of them _were_ pretty beat up…

Brick smiled slyly, "Well… we got in a fight with the Powerpuff Girls, and…"

Mojo's eyes lit up, a smile forming on his face and he clapped his hands together in anticipation, "Yes? Yes?"

Brick grin widened as he pretended to hang his head in defeat, hiding his laughter, "We lost."

"WHAT!" Brick regretted not being able to see Mojo's expression, but from all the sound effects he imagined it was priceless. He glanced sideways to see his brother's beaming back at him.

Butch brought his good hand up and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, a huge grin on his face, "Yep they beat us good!"

Boomer giggled too, "Yeah, we didn't wake till this morning. Guess we were out cold all night."

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!" Mojo shrieked, stomping up and down the robot's hollow, waving his hands frantically, "How could the Powerpuff Girls have defeated you! You are _my_ creation, as to say you are better than them! You are the ultimate super-powered beings in all of Townsville! Your strength is far superior to that of the Powerpuff Girls! It should have been a cinch, a walk in the park! A breeze! A snap! A CAKE WALK!"

Brick, Boomer, and Butch each smiled wryly to one another as Mojo continued his rant. Brick glanced down at the bandage again, quickly shoving it into his pocket. Hopefully Mojo would remain preoccupied long enough to forget about asking where it came from.

"No! I cannot have this! I, Mojo Jojo, shale improve you! I shale make you stronger, faster, and even greater than you are now! So that you can finally defeat the Powerpuff Girls!"

Both Butch and Boomer ceased laughing. "A-and how are you going to do that?" Boomer muttered.

Mojo gestured with his hands for the boys to get up, "Come! I will show you!"

The boys stood as Mojo lowered the ramp at the doorway and strolled out of the robot. They followed hastily, not wanting to be left behind. Brick stood closest to the monkey out of three, Boomer and Butch walking behind him.

"Are you sure about this?" Boomer whispered, not wanting Mojo to hear. Butch looked up eagerly too, thinking the same question.

Brick just shrugged, speaking in a hushed tone, "I don't know… I'm not sure what he wants to do, but we can't let on anything about the Powerpuff Girls. There's no telling what he might do if he finds out we went to them for help."

The ruffs both nodded in response, lifting themselves into the air as Mojo stepped up the volcano's staircase next to them, babbling nonsensical phrases as he marched. His mumbling continued as he opened to door, the boys landing and walking in after him, Butch shutting the door behind him. Mojo walked down the hall, past his central computer, and farther down the corridor. Brick had never been to this section of Mojo's lab before, unsure of what awaited them. He was worried about what Mojo might have in mind when he said he wanted to _improve_ them, and what means he would use to achieve that goal.

As they reached the end of the hallway, Mojo turned to into the last room on the right. Brick and his brothers peeked through the doorway before following, their paranoia making them extra cautious. The center of the room was relatively empty, the surrounding perimeter filled with machines of the dangerous variety: blasters, robots… a giant fire hydrant?

Mojo walked over to one of the nearest devices, a large laser. He stepped behind the controls, motioning for the Rowdyruffs to enter, "This way boys. Just stand right here," he explained, gesturing to the front of the mechanism.

Brick, Butch, and Boomer just stared at the open space Mojo wanted them to occupy, Butch turning to him with a look of annoyance, "You have _got_ to be kidding."

Mojo just looked back at them in surprise, "What?"

"We're not gonna just stand in front of a laser to get zapped!" Brick exclaimed.

"Would you prefer I zap you without the laser?" Mojo questioned, holding up one of his countless shock button copies.

Brick glared back at the monkey defiantly before stepping to the front of the laser, his brothers' gazes following him in shock. "Brick?" Boomer muttered.

Brick turned to Mojo once he was in place, "Well?"

Mojo glanced back at Butch and Boomer, using the remote to point at them, then where Brick stood, "You too."

Butch stared angrily at the monkey as he walked over to join Brick, Boomer following close behind. He glanced up at the laser as they stopped, "Is it gonna hurt?"

Mojo played around at the switches and dials behind the device as he answered, "It shouldn't."

_Meaning that it probably will_, Brick thought to himself, having little to no faith in his joke of a creator. The boys watched wide eyed as the lights surrounding the laser began to glow in rings around the tip, starting father back and nearing the center. As the last bulb sparked to life, a strange electric hum filling the room. Brick glanced over to Mojo whose mad laugher rang through the room along with the laser's drone.

Before he could realize what happened, an immense pain engulfed him, burning his insides as the laser struggled to alter his genetic makeup. He cried out in agony as he gradually lost the feeling in his fingertips, then his fingers and toes, then hands and feet, the pain consuming them and still managing to leave its singe. Throughout the entire process, his screams never stopped, squeezing his lungs dry.

Then it stopped.

Brick fell limply to the floor; his cheek pressed again the ground. He gasped for air, unwilling to move anymore than that, his limbs still stinging. He felt as though his brain had been fried, unable to function properly, as he stared blankly into open space. After a moment Brick was able to blink again and his ability of thought process returned, but he still longed to remain on the cool, steel floor.

He shut his eyes tightly as he heard Mojo's, much too loud to his liking, question, "Well?"

Brick didn't know if he had the strength or metal capacity remaining to asked, relieved when Butch did, "YOU DO REALIZE THAT HURT!"

"But do you feel any different?" Mojo pressed, caring little for the Rowdyruffs' wellbeing.

"I can't feel anything!" Brick moaned as he forced himself to roll over and placed his head up on his hand as he leaned on his elbow.

"Well," Mojo shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to try again."

All three boys' head shot up at once, "WHAT!"

And so the day continued, the Rowdyruffs enduring each and everyone one of Mojo's experiments, which gradually drain their strength rather than improved it. The rest of their day consisted of various injections, probes, shock, zaps, lasers, and continuous suffering.

Brick fell to his knees, his palms pressed against the metal flooring beneath him, his arms shaking under the pressure. He looked up to see Boomer lying motionless in front of him. He crawled forward slowly, practically falling over as he reached his brother.

"Boomer…" he wanted to call his brother's name louder, but he couldn't muster up enough energy to speak in more than a murmur.

Then an unsteady movement caught his eye and he looked up to see Butch stagger to his feet, just barely recovering from the last electrocution, "That's it! I've had enough of this!"

"What are you talking about?" Mojo asked in confusion, hopping down from behind his last firing device.

"WAKE UP YA STUPID MONKEY!" he yelled. "Boomer isn't even conscious anymore!"

He marched up to Butch, glaring at him at eye level sense Butch was too exhausted to stand straight, hunched over. "Do you want to get shocked again?" he threatened.

"Go ahead!" Butch offered, "It's better than another one of your steroid lasers!"

Mojo's eyes squinted together as his lower lip began to just out into a pout, "Fine! We shall be done for today!"

Mojo marched back to the machine he had been working at last, shutting down the power strip, and hopping off the platform. He walked past the boys as Brick attempted to sling Boomer's arm over his shoulder to help his brother walk, "Come! I shall escort you to your capsules."

Mojo strolled off in front of them, but Butch didn't follow at first. He remained where he was, glaring at the monkey with hate filled eyes.

"Butch," Brick practically choked. His throat was so sore from all his screaming he was surprised his brothers could understand him, "Could you give me a hand with Boomer?"

"Sure," Butch walked up to Brick, standing on the opposite side of Boomer and slinging his other around his shoulder so that now Brick and Butch supported most of Boomer's weight.

"Boomer?" Brick asked again, still very much exhausted. He shook his shoulder lightly, "Come on Boomer… time to wake up."

"Yeah, we're going to bed. Don't want to sleep through that," Butch joked as Boomer's eye began to twitch.

"Well, let's go follow Mojo," Brick muttered. Butch looked up at him, slightly surprised. "There's nothing else we can do like this," Brick coughed.

Butch nodded solemnly, and the three of them slowly made their way to their _bed_room that lacked any beds. Boomer began to walk slightly on the way down the hall, glancing up at Butch. "It's... kay Butch. I'll be fine with just Brick," he murmured, his voice scratchy too. Butch looked at him skeptically for a second, before releasing his arm. Boomer stumbled at first, but Brick helped him to right himself and continued onward.

They staggered through the doorway, staring straight ahead and never turning to the monkey standing against the wall. Brick helped Boomer over to his capsule on the right before entering the one nest to his. Once all three boys were inside their chambers, Mojo closed the glass lids with the control panel behind him. As soon as he left, Brick slumped against the wall of his capsule, falling to the floor in exhaustion. He remained still, unwilling to move an inch.

"Brick?" Butch asked from the container next to his.

"Just go to sleep Butch," he muttered back. "We'll figure out something tomorrow."

He didn't turn his head to see if Butch had taken his advice or not, but his talking ceased which was good enough for Brick. He just sat there, letting the remnants of the earlier testing sting his body. His head was swimming, making him dizzy. Just before he fell into unconsciousness, he thought back to the Powerpuff Girls' house. He missed sleeping in the basement under the containment ray. He missed being around the people he'd come to trust, even if he presumed that some of them didn't trust him. He knew he could rely on them, even if they didn't feel the same.

Brick reached into his pocket, grasping the bandage he'd removed earlier between his fingers. The cut on his face that was almost completely gone had been reopened up much wider thanks to Mojo's testing, a fresh gash on his cheek. He didn't remove the bandage from his pocket, simply stroking his thumb over the back, repeating this motion until sleep overcame him.

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**Contest time! If anyone would like one of their favorite episodes of the Powerpuff Girls to be featured in the story, now's the time to ask! You can suggest however you'd like: reviews, messages, doesn't matter. Suggestions will be accepted for another chapter or two, so get them in soon!**

**And as always, ****Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	19. Chapter 19: Contemplate

**You've been waiting for this… Blossom's Point of View! Also, thanks for all the episode suggestions! I'll still be accepting them for another chapter so feel free to post more ideas! Anway, hope you like it! ^^**

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_Blossom stumbled forward, unsure of her surroundings. In each direction she only saw fog, surrounding her from every side. She heard a slight noise, sharp and swift. She turned, but was only greeted by the same haze as before. Then the sound came again, vanishing just as quickly as before into the mist. She turned again, searching for the source and finding nothing._

_Blossom fell to her knees as she was struck in the center of her back, going tense from the surprise. She quickly stood with the aid of her power of flight, whirling around to get a better view of her attacker._

_He stood proudly before her, chuckling lightly. His hands radiated with scarlet flares, similar to the crimson flames that had replaced his eyes. He was grinning widely as he glared down at her, his face filled with pleasure._

_Blossom stared defiantly back at Brick, analyzing her attacker. Then, out of nowhere, he vanished._

_Blossom's eyes widened in shock, spinning around in a desperate attempt to locate her opponent, and failing miserably._

_Brick struck her again, this time punching her across her jaw line. She staggered back, but before she had a chance to right herself she was jabbed in the stomach by another flaming fist, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall to the ground._

_Brick's wicked laughed rung in her ears. She glanced up from her spot on the floor to see Brick standing over her, the same sinister smirk gracing his face._

_He knelt down in front of her, raising his arm up behind his head as he readied for the final strike._

_Blossom prepared herself to counterattack his swing, but was surprised when she noticed his features begin to change. Brick's hate filled eyes began to widen in horror as he stared back at her, his grin shrinking until his mouth was barely open. She watched cautiously as he lowered his shaking fist to the ground, the glow fading slightly._

_And then he was gone._

_Blossom rose to her knees, glancing around from side to side. _

"_MAKE IT STOP!" _

_Blossom froze at the sound of Brick's cry; he was screeching at the top of his lungs, his scream filled with terror and anguish that managed to sting her right to her core. She searched frantically for him, but his call seemed to rise out of the clouds around her._

"_Somebody…"_

_Blossom turned around in the direction she thought the voice might be coming from, surprised to find Brick kneeling on the floor with his back arched, his fingered tangled in his hair. He sounded like he was crying._

"_Please… j-just make it stop…"_

Blossom jolted up in her bed, panting as her heart raced. She reached up to her forehead, whipping the sweet from her brow. She glanced over to her sisters, Bubbles on her right and Buttercup on her left. The professor had bought them each their own separate beds long ago, but the girls had pushed them together out of old habit. And they found that without each other to bump into they would roll off their beds in the middle of the night.

Blossom slid the covers off her legs, rapping her arms around her knees, not yet ready to return to sleep. She stared into space, letting her mind wander freely through the memories of the day before.

She had no idea what to do. The Rowdyruff Boys attacked her and her sisters two days ago. It had been the worst thrashing they'd ever gotten, coming home covered in bruises and cut, which _never_ happens. Not to a Powerpuff Girl; not to a superhuman born of Chemical X. It's not like their injuries didn't heal relatively quickly; but even so, Blossom and her sisters haven't been at the top of their game since the incident.

Blossoms shook her head in annoyance, thinking back to the dinosaur fight. She should have been able to hold her own against it, even if she couldn't fight it off, she shouldn't have been wounded as badly as she was.

She sighed, her eyebrows knitting together as she thought back to when Brick had come to help her. Why would he do something like that? Why would he help her the day after she had been attacked by him? It just didn't make any sense. He'd said he wasn't gonna let her die on him… maybe it was just because they needed her help.

She no longer doubted that was indeed the real reason they had come to them, not after hearing what Mojo had to say about the matter. Originally, she assumed that it had all been a trick to try and earn their trust. But after seeing how he treated them, artificially spiking their power with his remote, electrocution, forcing them to fight after they'd already collapsed…

She should have trusted him more. If she'd left them with the professor, Mojo wouldn't have taken them away again. Blossom placed her forehead on her arms, closing her eyes and keeping her head down. She'd just barely woken up after what happened yesterday to see Brick staring at her from Mojo's robot, obviously scared for some reason. He'd probably been worried that Mojo would make him fight again.

A shiver ran through her as she thought of Brick attacking her again, his eyes blazing the way they always did when Him's will took control, a sinister grin occasionally gracing his face. She's almost forgotten about that side of him completely after yesterday… well, up until the nightmare she'd had the night before.

Blossom's eye flew open. If Brick and her had had the same dream that night, was it possible that they had this night too? As much as she questioned many of the mysteries surrounding the Rowdyruffs, Him had used his powers to visit the girls in their dreams before. It wasn't beyond reason that the boys could have inherited that trait.

Did that mean Brick and his brothers were actually suffering right now?

In her dream she could feel his pain, the agony of all the misury he had endured after only three days of life. It had pierced her heart as he screamed, his misery overflowing, pouring off of him like waves, rippling over her and leaving their sting.

The professor had hypothesized before that the amount of Him's DNA in their bodies would never exceed 49%, meaning that at all times Brick was at least 51% made up of her. Did that mean that even though he was born from Him's blood that he was more good than bad?

When they first attacked them, the boys had only just come to life, following the orders of their creator who would shock them is they disobeyed. Blossom realized that she shouldn't have judged them so much on their first encounter alone. Even her and her sisters had managed to screw up their first impression, utterly destroy the city from an innocent game of tag.

Still, whenever she thought of the way Brick looked the first time they met, that evil smirk accompanied with blazing eyes, fear would creep back into her heart. Maybe that fear of Brick played a part in corrupting her judgment.

Brick went against orders, against instinct, to ask for her help…

Blossom shook her head in frustration; no, _they_ went against orders to ask for her and her sister's help.

But that was beside the point. She was a Powerpuff, a hero. That should have been reason enough.

She knew what to do.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	20. Chapter 20: Breakout

**Well, I went on a last minute vacation with two of my good friends a week ago, and then I wasn't really in a writing mood for the last week... Sorry about that! But on the bright side, this chapter is one of the longer ones. Originally I wasn't going to have it be this long but I couldn't find any good stopping points so... yeah. Hope you like it! ^^**

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Brick awoke from his dream, startled. His breathing had sped slightly, but he just didn't have the energy for a more appropriate reaction. His heart smolder as though it might burn a hole though his shirt. He slowly lifted his hand with the little strength he still possessed, dropping it on his chest and gripping his sweater. He stared at the glass door in front of him with half interest, his eye just barely open. Despite how drained he felt, it didn't seem as though he would be falling asleep again anytime soon.

He bit the inside of his lip lightly as he let his mentality sink back into the hazy clouds that were turning his brain to mush, drowning himself in the pain and misery that had built up inside him over the course of the last few days.

He shut his eyes; letting his mind wander, wander to sections of his past that made his heart ache. What the Powerpuffs must think of him and his brothers… but he just shut his eyes tighter. The girls obviously weren't going to help the Rowdyruffs, so it shouldn't matter anymore what the girls' impression of them was. They blew it, and now they were back where they started, caged in capsules in Mojo's lab with a few additional scars, mental and physical, and a lot less vigor.

Thinking about the girls only caused his pain to swell. He knew he shouldn't, but he _would_ miss them, and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

Somehow, Brick managed to pick up on a soft sound from outside his container. He opened his eyes slightly, glancing up to see a blur of pink behind the glass door in front of him and his heart stopped. His eyes moved up higher to see a certain red-headed Powerpuff rapping his cage lightly while her other hand was pressed against the lid. The rhythm of her tapping ceased when he met her eyes, her face lighting up but Brick could only stare back, stunned, his jaw falling open slightly. She looked away from a moment, turning away while her hand remained on the glass. Then the lid began to rise and slide away.

Brick's eyes widened is surprise, "…Blossom? What are you- oof!"

Blossom fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Brick's neck, knocking the wind out of him momentarily, "I'm sorry Brick!"

Genuinely shocked, he didn't answer right away. He smirked after a moment, "You're sorry?"

Blossom quickly released her grip and looked back at him, wide eyed and concerned. She didn't speak for a moment, just staring. It made Brick feel uncomfortable, "Blossom?"

"I can't hear it," she muttered, grabbing his hand that was still clinging to his shirt. He released his grip so she could pull it away, turning his wrist over, "Your watch!"

Brick pulled his arm back slowly, moving his wrist into his line of sight. The lights on the watch face were gone, the dials off. It must have short-circuited when Mojo was doing his experiments. He just lowered his arm limply back to the ground, his humorless grin returning, "Guess you're lucky I'm worn out."

Blossom quickly bounced to her feet and took a few steps back, worry evident in her expression. Brick looking up at her with cloudy eyes, "Blossom… at this point, it really doesn't matter. I can't feel anything anyway…"

She seemed to calm slightly at his statement, her head tilting slightly, "Can't feel any… What happened?"

Brick was about to answer, but then he heard a light patting on his left. Blossom turned to the direction the sound was coming from, "Careful Bubbles. Brick's watch is broken so Boomer's might be too."

Brick squinted, attempting to use it x-ray vision to see Bubbles on the other side of the capsule wall, but all he saw was a flicker as her silhouette came into view before the container's side reappeared. He turned back to Blossom, "You… you might have more trouble with Boomer. He fainted near the end…"

Blossom turned her attention back to Brick, confusion in her eyes, "End? End of what?"

Brick pressed against the floor with his hands as he attempted to reposition himself, but his arms suddenly started to throb. He groaned and fell back to his spot on the ground, "Mojo… uh, he tested out some new experiments on us…"

"Humph, experiments…"

Brick shut his eyes for a moment as Blossom turned to Butch's cage. He didn't want to make an effort to use his x-ray vision again when he knew it wouldn't work; all it would give him was a headache.

Butch continued, "More like torture devices if you ask me…"

Brick glanced up at Blossom to see her mouth open slightly as though she was about to ask him to clarify, but Buttercup flew in just then, speaking before her, "You guys can tell us all about it once we're back home."

Brick's eyebrows furrowed, "You're gonna take us back?"

Both Blossom and Buttercup turned to him. He watched as a grin appeared on his counterpart's face. "What? You think we're gonna pass up the opportunity to foil Mojo's newest plan?" she teased.

"Yeah, this is our chance to get rid of our toughest enemy yet!" Buttercup joked. He still couldn't see Bubbles, but he heard her soft laughter on the other side of the container. Brick smiled up at them, overjoyed that they'd come to help him and his brothers.

Blossom leaned over and held out her hand, "So, you coming or what?"

Brick's smile faded as he stared at Blossom's hand, unsure if he'd be able to stand. Her expression changed as well, surprised and confused that he hadn't stood up yet, "Brick?"

He struggled for a moment, giving up when he was unable to rise, "…Yeah. I don't think I can get up..."

Blossom straightened up and folded her arms together, her lower lip jutting out slightly into a pout as she thought, "Why? Did you break something?"

"No. I… I just don't have any energy…" he mumbled.

Blossom smiled, "Okay." She reached down and grabbed both of Brick's arms, pulling him up into the air, just a few inches off the ground. Then she slung his arms over her shoulder, "Hold on."

"Uh… okay," Brick did as he was told, grabbing onto his shirt sleeves so his arms wrapped securely around Blossom's neck. Then she reached down and grabbed his legs, one in each hand, like a little kid getting a piggy-back ride. Brick blushed slightly with embarrassment; it felt very degrading to need to be carried.

She turned back to her sisters, "Get Butch and Boomer!" she said urgently, "Mojo cold show up at anytime!"

Buttercup nodded and stepped over to Butch, who protested the entire time with muffled threats of 'Don't you dare' and 'What do you think you're doing?' Bubbles came into view after a moment, cradling a still sleeping Boomer like a baby, one arms behind his shoulders and another under his knees. Buttercup stepped back soon after her, her counterpart slung over her shoulder. Brick couldn't see Butch's face, but he assumed he was peeved. He pressed his lips together; there were more humiliating ways to be carried.

Blossom nodded when she saw that her sisters were ready, "Alright, let's go girls!"

She took off first, flying out the window into the night sky. Brick shut his eyes as his head spun, the wind rushing in his face, the sudden speed change causing his stomach to lurch. He'd never been a fan of flying, but that fact seemed to worsen in his current state. His eyebrows knitted together as he shut his eyes tighter, his head pounding, his throat tightening.

"Blossom, maybe we should stop for a minute. Brick doesn't look so good…"

Brick glanced up cautiously to see Bubbles flying a few yards away, eyeing him with concern. Blossom turned her head sideways so she could see him, "Brick?"

He bit the inside of his lip; he didn't want everyone to have to stop just for him, but the pain was becoming excruciating. His head throbbed as he spoke, "Just for a minute?"

"Sure," she answered, facing forward again, scouring the city below for a good stop to rest. She began to descend slowly. Once she landed, Brick's headache began to get worse, no longer having the wind to distract him. Blossom set him down lightly next to a building, then turned around and crouched down in front of him, "Brick? What's wrong? You look a little pale…"

Brick moaned slightly, swaying a little as he slumped against the building. He didn't dare open his eyes, afraid the rush of color might cause his headache to get even worse, "Just… dizzy." He gripped his stomach, feeling a little nauseous.

"Why don't you guys head home? I'll catch up," Blossom offered.

Buttercup's voice was barely a whisper to Brick, "But Blossom, what if…" Buttercup paused for a moment, not finishing her question and starting another in its place, "Are you sure?" She sounded cautious and guarded.

"Yeah, it's fine. We'll be back before you know it," she answered calmly. Brick heard the faint, high pitched noise of Buttercup and Bubbles taking off again, followed by a pair of footstep that faded with each stride. Brick opened his eyes slowly to see Blossom standing a few yards away with her back to him, staring up at her sisters as they flew off.

"H-hey Blossom…" he muttered. She glanced back over her shoulder when he spoke. "Th-thanks for coming back… for me and my brothers…"

As he finished, Blossom turned around completely. "You don't need to thank me for that," she replied meekly. "Mojo wouldn't have been able to do what he did if I'd trusted you enough to let you stay with the professor."

Brick's eyebrows creased for a moment as he though back to the conversation Blossom brought up, back before the Rowdyruffs had met Princess, back when he'd asked her if she trusted him, but at the time they'd all been too spooked by their nightmares to make sense of anything. Blossom had seemed extra cross that day, afraid to let him out of her sight for even a moment. Did that mean…

"You trust me now?" he asked in confusion.

Blossom glanced sideways at the ground, "I should have trusted you before…"

"Why?" he blurted out, somewhat annoyed. "Why should you trust me now? After I…" He stopped when he realized where his train of thought was leading him. His eyes dropped to the street, "You were afraid to put your trust in me before, when it was just a dream. What would make you want to trust me after I did it for real?"

Blossom's shoulders slumped and she smiles slightly, "You didn't do it this night…"

Brick eyes widened in shock for a moment, surprised, before his face returned to its glum expression, "Yeah I did… even as I drained as I am, even if I didn't… didn't kill you." It made Brick's stomach hurt even more to be talking about this, but he continued anyway. "I shouldn't have ever expected that I'd earn your trust one day… I'm not someone you should be giving that too." He felt utterly guilty now, being trusted by her after all he'd put her through.

A second later Brick's head shot up when he realized Blossom was crouched down right in front of him, glaring. "Too bad! I've given you my trust, so don't go doing anything that's gonna make me take it away!"

Brick just stared back at Blossom as she continued to glower back, eventually looking away and sighing.

But his head snapped back up when she started to speak again, "And stop being so mopey! We're taking you home! We'll come up with a plan to break Mojo's hold on you and your brothers! So cheer up already!"

Brick didn't make a sound, still just staring back at his counterpart. Then he closed his eyes and chuckled lightly, a smile spreading across his face. He'd needed a pep talk like that, someone to yell at him openly, to tell him everything would turn out fine in the end. No wonder Blossom was such a good leader to her sisters. He opened his eyes again, smiling back at Blossom.

But then both their smiles faded. Brick's eyes began to burn slightly, reflecting off Blossom's wide, pink ones. She quickly stood and flew back a few feet, but Brick just chuckled again, feeling more light-hearted now.

"You're right Blossom… I shouldn't be acting like this anymore," Brick pressed his hand against the wall behind him, stumbling as he tried to push himself up to a standing position, still leaning on the wall for balance. His headache had subsided along with the nausea. His eyes began to dim.

He grinned back at his counterpart, "Sorry if I scared you."

She merely folded her arms together as she floated back over to him. "I wasn't scared!" she protested. Then she glanced back at Brick to see that his eyes were smoldering again even more than before and she ceased advancing.

Brick just chuckled again, "Sure, if you say so…"

Blossom glared back at him defiantly and began to float closer again, slowing as the distance shortened and his eyes continued to glow, "Y-you sure you're okay?"

Brick's smiled faded and his shoulders fell slightly, "I'm not gonna hurt you if that's what you're asking…"

Blossom's eyebrows ceased, "Not like that! I mean… doesn't it hurt?"

Brick's smirk returned relatively quickly, "Not as much as it used to."

Blossom landed just in front of him, arms still crossed as she scanned over his face. She raised an eyebrow after a moment and frowned.

Brick raised his eyebrows, confused by her expression and curious as to what caused it, "What?"

"Ya know…" she mused, "I bet Butch and Boomer don't look nearly as threatening when their eyes glow green and blue."

Brick just blinked in surprise, imagining how he must look compared to his brothers when near their counterparts, their eyes glowing a much calmer bright sapphire and jade while his were a much more hostile crimson color. He laughed at her observation. "So you were scared," he taunted.

Blossom spun around, her back to Brick and her head held high, "No way!" After a moment she peaked back at him over her shoulder, "So, you feeling well enough to fly on your own or do you want me to carry you?"

He smile grew slightly. "Well, thanks to you my blood's actually pumping again, but I'm really surprised I haven't fallen over yet…" he joked. Maybe he should try walking…

Blossom twisted around to watch as Brick attempted to step away from the wall, "Uh Brick… I wouldn't do…" But it was too late; Brick had already begun to trip over him feet as his legs collapsed on him. Blossom tried to grab his hand to hold him up, but she just tripped over him too, causing him to land face first on the street as she fell on his back.

Brick groaned something Incomprehensible into the assault, then huffed to blow his bangs out of his face, "That was graceful…"

"Oh be quiet, I was trying to help you!" Blossom replied as she pushed herself up off of him into a kneeling position.

Brick brought his arms up so he was leaning on his elbows, "How does someone who can fly trip?"

"When her counterpart pulls her down with him!" she answered, brushing off her dress.

Brick flipped over to see Blossom just staring at him in irritation, one of the loops in her bow longer than the other down and drooping down past her bangs, covering one of her eyes. She looked so funny that Brick couldn't stop himself from laughing, realize that she had too after a moment. "W-what?" he managed to ask between chuckles.

"Y-y-your… hat!" She gasped. Brick reached up to see that his cap was gone. He looked around, left and right, but didn't see it anywhere. Then he rolled over again to see a bird pecking at it. What bird would be up at this time of night!

"Hey!" He crawled over to the bird, reaching out slowly and swiftly grabbing his hat away, Blossom laughing all the way. Brick placed his cap back on his head, adjusting it so his bangs didn't stick out too much, "Yeah, yeah. Ready to go?"

"Sure," Blossom replied, "Just let me tighten my bow." Brick sat in his spot on the ground, watching as Blossom untied her ribbon only to retie it again in a more appropriate fashion, with both loops the same length this time, "Alright, let's get going."

Brick rose to his feet unsteadily with the help of the wall again, securing his arms around Blossoms neck again as she lifted his legs to her sides. Brick felt a faint prick of pain as they touched, tightening his grip on his sweater sleeve.

Blossom noticed, "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," he reassured her, gripping the red fabric even harder, "It'll pass."

"If you say so…" she muttered before taking off in a burst of cherry light into the night sky.

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**Also, this is the last chapter for episode requests so if anyone would like their favorite episode to be in the story somewhere, now's the time to ask!**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	21. Chapter 21: Charades

**Thank you everyone for reading! And thanks for all your wonderful suggestiongs for episodes to include in the story. I will try to fit in as many as I can in the spots they are needed. In the mean time though, 20 chapters later things finally start to calm down a little. Hope you guys like it! ^^**

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"Wait, so what happened?"

Brick bit into his bagel before he could answer, chewing quickly. The six of them sat in a circle on the floor of the Powerpuff Girls' room, a plate assorted food in front of them. Boomer was on his left, his knees up and leaning back on his hands while Bubbles on his right, sitting in a similar manner but with her arms wrapped around her legs. Butch next to her, lying on his back with an arm folded behind his head, a piece of leftover pepperoni pizza in his other. Blossom was kneeling of the other side of the platter between Boomer and Buttercup, whose legs were crossed.

Brick lowered his hand that was holding his bagel, resting his arm on top of his knee that was up, his other leg on the ground. He was about to swallow so he could answer Buttercup's question when Bubbles asked a new one, "So you guys don't remember anything after we got rid of Mojo's first remote?"

"I don't," Brick replied, glancing from Boomer to Butch who both shook their heads.

Buttercup opened her mouth to repeat her question when Blossom asked another, "What do you remember first?" Buttercup folded her arms together in annoyance.

A chill ran down Brick's spine. He noticed that both Butch and Boomer had gone tense at her question as well. Brick chewed on his lip, not wanting to answer.

Butch answered fairly willingly though, the humor in his voice gone, "I had an energy ball in my hand when I woke up, and Buttercup was already out cold." He glanced over to his brothers, "I think Boomer might have snapped out of it before me … and I think Brick was still fighting. He stopped pretty soon after me though."

Boomer, who had been staring at his shoes, glanced over to Bubbles, "How's your arm?"

Brick's eyebrows ceased in confusion. He turned to Bubbles to see an abnormally large bruise that remained on her right arm, which she quickly covered with her opposite hand. "It's fine," she smiled.

A gloomy grin appeared on Brick's face for a moment, before quickly vanishing again. He looked up at Blossom, "So what made you guys want to come get us after that?"

Blossom smiled, "Mojo explained everything. You know how he loves to talk…"

"Yeah, he was all, 'I am Mojo Jojo!" Buttercup mocked, waving her hands around widely. "And I have created the Rowdyruff Boys from you! And Blah, blah, blah-blah! And all I have to do is press this button and they shall destroy you! Watch!" she repeated, pretending to operate an imaginary remote.

Bubbles folded her arms together, "I don't know Buttercup, I think Blossom does it better…"

"Oh yeah," Buttercup challenged before dashing off in a flash of green light, returning a split second later with a bucket that she placed on Blossom's head, "Have at it red!"

Blossom giggled, "I, Mojo Jojo, have finally devised the perfect plan to destroy the Powerpuff Girls once and for all! You Powerpuff Girls shall be powerless to stop me! Nothing you do will be able to protect you from the wrath of my Rowdyruff Boys!"

All three Rowdyruffs were cracking up; Boomer holding his gut as he fell over and Butch rolling on his front, banging on the floor. Bubbles flew off while Blossom was ranting like a certain monkey, returning behind Buttercup with a red ribbon in her hand. As Blossom continued she tied it into a bow on Buttercup's head, "And there is nothing you can do to stop me! Mwahaha!"

"Pow!" Buttercup murmured as she punched Blossom in slow motion, Blossom flailing her arms little by little as she fell on her side. She pretended to lay limply on the floor as Buttercup reached over and took the cookie that had been in her hand. "Now, what are you going to do without your remote?" she asked, holding it high above her head.

Blossom sat up and grabbed another cookie from the plate in front of her, "I shall magically pull out another one!"

Brick fell to the floor with his brothers, gripping his sides as he laughed. He glanced up to see Bubbles looked at him and pointing at her head. He tilted his head to the side and reached up to grab his hat, handing it to her. She placed it on her head and glared at Buttercup who was still pretending to be Blossom. "Grrr…" and she fell on top of her, making both of them fall over.

Brick laughed again at their demonstration, Butch snorting next to him. Boomer calmed down after a moment, still laughing as he spoke, "Wait… I got this one!"

He reached over and grabbed the bucket from Blossom and Brick's cap from Bubbles, placing it on his head. Brick glanced over to see Boomer placing something on his head as well, realizing it was the bucket Blossom had been wearing.

Brick grinned evilly, talking in a different tone, "The Powerpuff Girls have finally been defeated!" Buttercup was starting to get up, but fell back to the ground after hearing Brick's imitation, playing dead.

Boomer giggled, "But they're not dead."

"What!" Brick pretended to yell. "They must be destroyed! Otherwise they will continue to get in my way! Destroy them! Now!"

Blossom and Bubbles were giggling to one another at their impressions, Buttercup's chest rising unevenly as she laughed and attempted to appear asleep. Boomer stifled his quiet laughter to say his line, "We can't!"

"Why not!" Brick whined.

"Because Butch will pile-drive you into the ground," Boomer explained.

Brick glanced down at Butch who was eyeing him menacingly, his eyes glinting and a huge grin on his face. Brick scooted away, raising his hands in up in front of him, not longer talking in his monkey voice, "Butch… no. Don't look at me like that!"

"Aww," he complained, his grin fading.

Boomer chuckled, "It was pretty good last time."

Bubbles glanced up from her giggling, "Last time?"

Butch grinned widely, "Yeah, Mojo didn't know what hit him!"

Blossom stopped laughing and Buttercup started to sit up again, "Wait, you actually tackled Mojo? Why?"

Butch's eyebrows creased as Brick responded, grabbing his hat from Boomer, "Didn't we tell you about that before?"

All three girls shook their heads in unison. Brick and Boomer glanced at each other in surprise before turning back to the girls, "Oh… well, when we first met after… uh, after we knocked you out, we didn't know what to do so we decided to try…" Brick paused for a moment, finding it hard to speak as he glanced at Bubbles who was waiting all too innocently for an answer, "We tried having Butch attack Bubbles instead, but Boomer protected Bubbles from his attack."

Bubbles' eyes widened, startled. She glanced over to Butch who was still laying on his stomach, facing her. He dipped his head solemnly, "Sorry…"

She merely giggled and ruffled his hair. "It's fine," she replied cheerfully. Butch glanced up to make sure he was forgiven before smiling back at her.

"But Boomer protected Bubbles?" Blossom asked as her and Buttercup turned to their sister's counterpart.

Brick grinned as Boomer turned to hide his face, "Yep, he came out of nowhere and stopped Butch at the last second." He noticed Boomer blush slightly as Bubbles giggled again.

Blossom tilted her head slightly, her eyebrows puckering, "That's interesting…"

"Ya know," Butch interrupted, causing everybody to turn to him. He'd rolled back onto his back, staring at the piece of pizza still in his hand, "If it wasn't for you guys, we probably would've starved to death by now."

Brick and Boomer laughed. He was right, if they hadn't come to the Powerpuff Girls they probably wouldn't even know what food was. Boomer turned back to the girls, "Yeah, thanks again."

Bubble and Blossom both nodded, "It's fine," as Buttercup shrugged, smirking.

Then Blossom's eyes widened slightly and she stood up, "It sounds like the professor might be awake." Bubbles cupped her hand around her ear to listen. Brick and his brothers hadn't quite gotten their strength back yet, so their enhanced abilities were still dull. Bubbles nodded after a moment and got to her feet, Buttercup rising after her, "Let's go downstairs to wait for him then."

Bubbles walked over to Boomer, extending a hand to help him up. He grabbed on wearily, unsure of his strength, but surprisingly he was able to stand once he was on his feet. He grined, "Thanks Bubbles."

Blossom did the same, stepping over to Brick and pulling him up from his seat on the floor. He had a little more energy after eating, but far from enough to use his powers or feel any real pain from her touch. He swayed once or twice before regaining his balance, thanking Blossom for her help once he had.

After he stood, Buttercup stepped over to Butch, folding her arms together across her chest. Butch rolled onto his hands and knees, a determined look on his face. "Did you want some help?" Buttercup offered.

He shook his head, "I can do this..." He slowly lifted his hands off the ground until he was standing on his knees, then lifting one of his legs so that he was in a kneeling position and he began to sway as he rose. He flapped his arms around wildly in an effort to regain his balance, until Buttercup reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from falling over, "Quite being so stubborn."

The rest of the Powerpuffs and Rowdyruffs laughed at her statement, knowing all too well just how stubborn their green siblings were. She quickly helped Butch up to a standing position before they attempted to walk down the hall.

Brick smiled, feeling his heart swell. It was nice to be back; back at the Utonium house… back with the girls…

Back home.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	22. Chapter 22: Agreement

**Hi everyone! First off, I'd like to apologize that my writing hasn't been of the same quality it usually is. I wasn't really in the right mood when I wrote the last few chapters, and I usually didn't end up using the details I should have, but I'm always going back to try and make it better. Anyway, here's yet another chapter. I'm hoping this one is better than my last few have been and I'm sorry for mistakes of any kind (constantly finding more every time I reread it) but I hope you enjoy it anyway! ^^ **

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The professor marched back and forth with his hand to his chin, all six pairs of red, blue, and green eyes trailing behind him as they sat at the kitchen table. He sounded as if he was a military officer briefing his soldiers for their latest assignment, "Now, you say Mojo used the black button in your last encounter, correct?"

They all turned to Blossom to see her nod stiffly, "Yes, that's right." Her and her sisters had just finished explaining the finer details of the fight to the professor with the occasional comment from the Rowdyruffs.

"Hmm…" the professor began again, scratching his chin, "And if we are to believe that this is what caused the override of the watches, that means that the boys are just as susceptible to the black button's effects as their shock buttons… Meaning that it is imperative the Rowdyruff Boys residing at the Utonium household remains a secret from Mojo."

"A secret?" Bubbles asked in confusion.

The professor came to a halt, "Yes, we cannot let Mojo know that the Rowdyruffs Boys will be staying here."

"Why?" Butch asked indifferently, not understanding the real issue involved. He sat with his arms folded behind his head. "What difference does it make whether he knows where we are or not?"

Brick looked down at his hands folded together on the table in front of him. "Because…" he sighed. "Because if Mojo knew we were constantly around the girls, he could press the black button at any time." He glanced up to see a few shocked and scared faces starting back at him. Except Blossom; she hadn't reacted to his statement, probably having made a similar guess. "Isn't that right Professor?" he asked, not raising his head far enough for the professor to come into his line of sight.

The professor nodded, "That's right." Brick's heart sunk slightly; no matter how much he enjoyed being right, he'd secretly been hoping he might have guessed wrong. That meant he could go out of control at anytime without warning; like a time bomb, ticking as its last precious seconds ran down, as it waited to utterly destroy itself and everything surrounding it.

"So what do we do about rescuing them?" Buttercup asked coldly. She was leaning back in her chair, arms folded across her chest. "Someone needed to press the button to open their cells."

The professor continued his pacing, "I doubt Mojo would jump to the conclusion that you would free them. From what he knows, helping the Rowdyruffs should be the _last_ thing you girls are up to."

Brick chuckled lightly, a smirk spreading across his face at the irony of that. He glanced sideways over to Blossom to see that she was smiling too.

"No," Brick raised his head when the professor spoke again, his grin fading. "I don't think Mojo will suspect what's really going on for some time, not if we keep a low profile. But the matter of how the Rowdyruff Boys managed to escape will become a problem if they are captured again," he noted, turning to the boys.

"We will need to think up an excuse you can give Mojo as a backup plan in case you were to be taken hostage again, but we can worry about that later." The professor, turning to address Brick in particular, "You said Mojo ran some experiments on you when you returned. Did he have a reason for it?"

"Well…" Brick trailed off, thinking back to when they were still inside Mojo's robot, "He asked us why we looked so beat up, what with Butch's hand and my cut. And he noticed how dirty Boomer was after being tackled by Princess. I told him that… well, I told him we lost to you guys and that we were knocked out until that morning."

"Nice going by the way," Butch added sarcastically.

Brick's voice became a little more solemn, "My bad…" He glanced up to see the professor eyeing them with misunderstanding, not seeing the connection between the lie and the tests. "Mojo decided to run experiments on us to try and make us stronger, so we wouldn't lose again."

The professor stared long and hard at Brick, scanning him over as Brick merely stared back uncomfortably. After a moment he moved on to Butch and then Boomer, rubbing his chin the entire time, "Well, from what I can see his experiments weren't too kind to you. It looks as though they caused your injuries to worsen. Your bruises are much darker than they should be at this point, and Butch's hand should have nearly healed by now but it looks as though it may take a few more days… And I'm sure you're aware by now Brick that your cut's reopened and it appears to be much deeper than before …" The professor paused for a moment, nodding to himself as if he was agreeing with his diagnosis. "What sorts of tests did he perform?"

Brick glanced over to his brothers who stared back with blank expressions, "Um… he didn't really explain the purpose of each experiment. Just a few rays… I think we were electrocuted more than once…"

Boomer decided to comment for a change, "I remember getting a shot for one of the last experiments…"

"That wasn't the last one," Butch corrected. "You just passed out for all the others."

The professor looked over the three Rowdyruffs again before continuing his march around the table, circling the group as they each turned to watch him pass. Then he dropped his hand from his chin, stopping abruptly, "Brick, how are you feeling?"

Brick raised his eyebrows for a second in surprise, expecting a question relating more to the matter at hand than his own personal wellbeing. "Uh, fine?" he answered, unsure, making it sound more like another question. "A little tired maybe…"

"I heard your watch wasn't working…" the professor pressed.

"Oh, right," Brick moved his hand out of the way so he could see his watch, the blank screen revealing nothing to him. So that's what the professor meant… Brick unfastened the device and handed it to the professor.

"It may take some time to repair," he added as Brick dropped it into his palm. "And I will need to give each of you a physical…"

Brick's head shot up at the mention of another examination. He wasn't prepared to go through what he had the first time he'd asked the Powerpuffs for help, forced to attack his counterpart.

But the professor simply laughed at Brick's reaction, "It's nothing to worry about, it won't be like your last test. I just need to see if Mojo's experiments left any lasting effects."

Brick sighed, relieved that he wasn't going to have to fight Blossom in the simulator again. The professor smiled back at him, but his grin faded as he held the watch in his hand, "Are you sure you'll be alright without it?"

Brick smirked meekly, glancing sideways at Blossom. The pain wasn't as harsh as normal, barely anything more than a stinging sensation. He smiled again, "I'll be fine."

The professor's eyebrows creased slightly as his gaze shifted from one Rowdyruff to another, "Well, seeing as how your injuries have worsened, it might be a good idea to treat them soon. And you could probably use some rest… We can have your physicals done this afternoon then."

Brick smiled and nodded to the professor, along with his brothers. The professor turned away from them, heading down the hall. "Well, I'm going back to bed." He waved over his shoulder, "See you guys in the morning."

Brick glanced up from the table to see the girls rise out of their seats, hovering in the air for a moment. He quickly, as quickly as he could manage, pushed his chair away to stand. As he did, Blossom landed and stepped over to him, her eyes scanning over his face just as the professor had done.

"Well…" she began, glancing over to his brothers as she said this, "It would probably be best for you guys to take a shower before we put and antiseptic on your cuts…"

"Uh… okay. So guys, who wants to…" Brick turned back to his brothers to see that somehow Butch managed to fall asleep within the last few minutes.

Fortunately Boomer was awake, all though that was to be expected… He smiled awkwardly back at Brick as Butch snored. "I can go first," he offered.

"Alright," Bubbles replied cheerfully, floating over to him. "I'll grab you some towels and show you where the bathroom is."

"O-okay," Boomer replied, almost yawning as he spoke. At least his shower would wake him up a little…

Bubbles didn't bother waiting for him to stand up, she simply picked him up again like she had to bring him there. The only difference was that now Boomer was awake, wide eyed and pink faced to be carried like an infant up the stairs.

As soon as they made it back upstairs, Brick, Blossom, and Buttercup turned to see Butch's mouth stretch wide as he attempted to breathe through his nose, creating an even more obnoxious snore.

Blossom turned to her sister with a look of pleading annoyance, "Buttercup…"

"I got it," was all she said before walking over to Butch and roughly slinging him over her shoulder. He huffed as she did, otherwise not noticing as she carried him down to the lab.

Blossom was about to follow when Brick called her name, "Blossom?"

She spun around to face him and upon hearing the miniscule distress in his voice she raised her hands, waving them back and forth as she shook her head, "No more 'thank you's. No more apologies-"

But Brick continued anyway. "It's not that…" He started, trailing off again.

Blossom lowered her hands in surprise, a look of curiosity appearing on her face as one of her eyebrows rose, "Yes?"

Brick shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling ill at ease, "Is it… are you _really_ sure it's okay if me and my brothers stay here, now that we know what the black button does?"

Blossom's shoulders slumped as she huffed, but she didn't answer right away. He worried that he shouldn't have asked, that it was something Blossom didn't want to be reminded of, until she started to speak again.

Blossom smiled meekly back at him, "Even if something does happen, which it won't," she added confidently. "We can handle it. And we're gonna be able to laugh about this when it's all over," She shrugged casually as if it were nothing at all.

Brick was about to protest again when Blossom spoke again. "And it's not like we don't heal quickly," she added, removing the bandage that covered the cut on her cheek. "See? It's almost gone."

He attempted to smile back, to show that her act of confidence wasn't for nothing, but his grin was far from uplifting, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Positive."

He shrugged, "If you say so…" He started walking towards her, to the laboratory door, when he stopped, remembering something.

"Oh, and not that I blame you for this or anything, but…" he smirked despite the pain, though it was small, and stared back at Blossom's, his crimson eyes flaring. She shuddered slightly as he stepped past her, and he chuckled as he descended to the basement, "It doesn't improve your speech to shiver at the end."

As much as he hated when the evil in him surfaced every now and again, Blossom was right; it helped to poke fun at it.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	23. Chapter 23: Difference

**Well, thank you everyone who's been reading! And thanks for reviewing! And… yeah, that's all I got this time. Hope you like the chapter! ^^**

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"Butch, come on… get up," Brick ordered groggily, nudging his brother with his foot as he rubbed a towel in a circular motion through his wet hair, which was beginning to soak his shirt.

Butch groaned and rolled in the other direction, now facing away from Brick. He folded his hands together under his head as he curled up in a ball on the basement floor, his green sweater now a brownish umber from the orange light of the containment ray.

Brick prodded him harder, "Now Butch... Just take a shower."

Butch shut his eyes tighter, squeezing into an even smaller ball as he tried to ignore his brother.

A threatening voice barreled down the hallway, "BUTCH! GET IN THE FREAKING SHOWER ALREADY!"

Butch's eyes practically popped out of his head and his body went ridged. Brick bit his lip and raised his eyebrows before letting them fall again. Boy was he lucky that wasn't directed at him.

Butch quickly sat up and after recovering from the shock yelled back, "Coming _Mom_!" He stumbled drowsily as he stood, making his way to the stairs. Brick collapsed against the wall next to where Butch had been, draping the towel over his shoulder. He glanced sideways at Boomer who was lying on his side with his hands folded under his head, still fast asleep. Brick glanced over his brother, happy to see that his red cap was still where he had left it.

"Hurry up Bubbles! Brick's already down here!"

Brick turned to see Blossom float down the stairs from the doorway she had called from, landing in front of Boomer, "And Boomer fell asleep!"

"Okay, do we even own a first aid kit?" Bubbles' voice rang through the laboratory.

Brick smirked and raised an eyebrow, "I don't see why you would. It's not like you guys would need it for anything."

Blossom spun around, lifting off the ground again and hovering over to some nearby cabinets, "The professor should have one. What with all his experiments blowing up in his face. And he had wrapped up Butch's arm yesterday too so there has to be one somewhere. Ugh, why didn't I think of that earlier?"

Blossom quickly rummaged through the cabinets, slowly moving from one side of the lab to the other. Her searching began to accelerate as she yanked open drawers only to close them again instantly with dissatisfaction. Eventually she rounded the corner to where the simulator was kept. Brick glanced up to watch various books and devices fly through the air, landing on the floor with clinks and clanks.

"I found it!" Blossom hollered as the hurricane of science instruments ceased and vanished in a flash of pink, the ground once again clear. She floated over to the boys, first aid kit in hand.

"Great!" Bubbles called from up the next floor. She flew down to join them, landing abruptly in front of Boomer. "Brick," she scoffed, earning a very surprised and confused look from Brick. "Your hair is a mess! Didn't you comb it out at all?"

Brick's eyebrows puckered as he reached back and ran his fingers through his damp hair, catching lots of tangles and knots as he did. He glanced up to the sound of Bubbles streaking off, returning a split second later with a brush in hand. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around so that he was facing the stairs with Boomer behind him.

Bubbles positioned herself behind Brick, grabbing onto his hair and causing him to fall back slightly before regaining his balance. He folded his legs together and hunched his back in annoyance, "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," Bubbles replied cheerfully as she ran the brush through his hair, making it feel as though she had just yanked out every last strand, "No you don't."

Brick gritted his teeth, attempting to pull his head back to the position it belonged in, glowering at the stairs. Blossom sighed and rolled her eyes, scooting over to sit in front of Brick with the first aid kit.

Brick raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then Bubbles pulled particularly hard on his hair again, causing his frown to reappear.

Blossom opened the kit, removing a few bottles along with a roll of gauze wrapping. She closed the box and set it aside, holding a small piece of the gauze in one hand and a bottle in her other, finger on top. She pressed down on the tip and the contents of the bottle sprayed onto the bandage. She inched closer, glancing up at Brick, "This might sting a little."

"Sting?" he began to ask, but before he could form an actual question Blossom pressed the wrapping against his cheek.

"Ack!" Brick flinched away from the bandage, his cut burning.

Blossom pulled her hand away slightly, "I told you it was gonna sting."

"But it hurts," he complained.

Blossom rolled her eyes, dabbing Brick's cut a few more times as he attempted to move back, "Quit being such a baby."

Brick glared at her as she placed the bottle behind her along with the cloth she had been using. "Your cut must have gotten a lot deeper if it stings that badly," she mused.

Brick's eyebrows creased as he pressed against the inside of his cheek with his tongue, able to feel the lack of thickness where his cheek was sliced, "Yep, it's deeper."

Before he knew it, Blossom stuck a new bandage to his cheek. "Just try not to touch it too much," she added. "How's your shoulder?"

Brick cocked his head slightly, "My shoulder?"

Blossom looked away, smiling awkwardly. "I, uh… well, after Mojo got out his spare remote I tried to blast it away, and… I missed. And you were kinda there and…"

Brick jerked his head and raised an eyebrow, "Which shoulder was it?"

Blossom glanced quickly from Brick's right arm to his left, back and forth. "I think it was your left," she answered after a moment.

Brick brushed the towel off his left side and hunched his shoulders together as he pulled his shirt collar towards his arm to expose his shoulder, revealing a large, miss colored bruise that ran from his neck to his arm. Brick tapped it lightly with his opposite hand, wincing as he did.

Blossom grinned sheepishly, but Brick merely rolled his eyes, "It's not that bad. Didn't even notice it before."

Blossom's gaze settled on the ground, seeming unwilling to look at him. It annoyed Brick that he wasn't allowed to feel sorry about yesterday, but she was going to agonize over _one_ little blast.

He was about to say something to her, not quite sure what exactly, when Bubbles commented. "Brick, I love your hair!" she squealed, pulling her brush through it once again, "It really is just like Blossom's!"

"Uh, thanks?" Brick replied, surprised by her statement. "Do you think you could tie it back?" he asked as he glanced over his shoulder, handing her the ponytail holder that he had been wearing earlier.

"Sure," she answered cheerfully, grabbing the elastic band from him. He turned back to see Blossom playing absent-mindedly with her fingers.

"Come on Blossom," he whined, grabbing her attention again. "You can't act like this forever."

She glanced up at Brick instantly, then quickly shifted her gaze to something behind him. She didn't bother to really answer as she folded her arms across her chest.

Brick huffed lightly; he wasn't sure how he would ever get Blossom to come around. Could it be that this Blossom was who she really was and he had merely received a poor first impression. No… that didn't seem right. He was sure the great protectors of Townsville couldn't be so… quiet.

Brick stared at her long and hard, contemplating his options, before finally lifting his hand and holding it out to her.

Which caused her to glance up, "What are you doing?"

Brick eyes never left Blossom, his hard gaze unwavering, "I'm gonna prove you have nothing to worry about."

Blossom turned slightly forward, glancing skeptically from Brick's hand back to his eyes, "It wouldn't change anything."

"Just let me try," he insisted, extending his hand farther towards her.

Blossom raised an eyebrow as she shot a dull look back at him, letting her arms fall to her lap, "Brick, we both know that Mojo's experimenting made you weaker. I already know nothing is going… to…"

Blossom's voice trailed off, having forgotten how to raise her jaw. Brick glowered at her as she slowly lowered her gaze her hand which was now in his.

Brick's jaw tightened at the initial shock. He was actually willing himself to feel the pain, as unnecessary as that was. It burned; scorching him from the inside out. Yet he held it in, controlling the flow of power. He tried to keep his expression clear, but he could tell from Blossom's reaction that his face must have looked frightening and grave. He felt the heat of his eyes blazing as he raised his arm, this time according to his own will, and channeled his new found strength to his hand, slowly forming a crimson energy ball in his palm, the heat radiating off of it as well, warming his cheek.

He longed to look away, to stop the pain, but not only was it necessary for him to show her what he was still capable of, Blossom's innocent, petrified gaze kept him still, her rose red eye boring into his.

Blossom just stared back at him, his murderous gaze holding her in place. Her pupils dilated as she stared back, despite the intensity of the light.

He sensed Bubble rise from her seat behind him. In all honesty, he'd practically forgotten she was there, and he didn't want her to need to stop him. He flicked his fingers, causing the ball of energy to shrink slowly back into his hand before vanishing completely. He sucked in a jagged breathe through his still clenched teeth as the power reentered his system. He managed to calm himself relatively quickly, taking only a moment or two.

"Brick?" Bubbles' asked warily.

He turn slightly in her direction, "I-I'm fine."

"And just how is that supposed to help prove your point?"

Brick turned back to face Blossom. He realized that his display of… temptation that he still possessed in his current state might have appeared slightly overpowering, "Because I didn't hurt you?"

Her gaze tightened, "But it proved that you could."

"Because I wanted it to," he argued. "And I didn't."

Blossom didn't respond, still upset.

"…And my eyes aren't glowing anymore," he offered.

No comeback.

His eyes fell, "And I'm still holding your hand…"

Blossom glanced down at their hands, irritated, and swiftly yanked hers out of his grasp, taking the last of his pain with it.

"Alright Brick," Bubbles said. "Your ponytail's done. But you really should wear your hair down, it's so pretty!"

He smiled as she floated past him, "Thanks Bubbles."

She turned and waved lightly with a grin before drifting up the stairs as through the doorway.

Blossom rose from her seat as well, hovering slightly as she turned to follow her sister. Brick reached back over by Boomer to grab his hat, surprised when he heard her voice.

"Brick… you know it's not going to make any difference if Mojo uses the remote."

Brick adjusted he hat, turning to see that Blossom was hovering just in front of the staircase, her back to him, "…I'll do better next time."

At first she did nothing, but after a moment Blossom glanced back at Brick over her shoulder, nodded, and flew off to bed.

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**Please review so I can know what you think! ^^**


	24. Chapter 24: Gone

**Hello Readers! ^^ Sorry for the wait. Okay, just as a heads up (you'll be finding this out very soon anyway) I decided to play around with the spelling sounds for some of the characters' dialogue, but don't worry if you can't read it. There's a translation for the numbered lines at the bottom of the page. **

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A thin line of light cut through the slit of the laboratory door, running down the stairs, along the floor, and finally slicing across Brick's face. His eyes twitched with movement beneath his lids, but he just scrunched his nose, shut his eyes more tightly, and turned away from the basement entrance.

However, he was met with a surprisingly eager Butch that morning.

1 "Come'n Brick," he prodded as he poked his still half sleeping brother on the floor. "Up'n' at 'em. Rise'n' shine. Timeta seize the da' an' all that yadda yadda."

Brick groaned, swatting unenthusiastically back at Butch's hand. "What's with y-" Brick ceased speaking when he sat up and raised his head to Butch, slightly disturbed by his appearance. Sure, thanks to his shower his hair wasn't as greasy as it had been and he wasn't covered in dirt, and the girls apparently had gotten around to changing the bandages on his arm. But his facial expression had been what frightened Brick.

Butch's eyes were stretched much too wide, his eyebrows raised far beyond what should be normal. His emerald eyes were drained, bloodshot and empty. Purple bags slouched down his cheek, rising slightly as his ecstatic grin tightened. In Brick's opinion, he looked like one of those psychos from the Halloween movies where the committed loony escapes from the insane asylum to slaughter a nearby neighborhood.

Brick trembled at that thought, his arm shaking as he placed his hand against the wall to steady himself as he stood. He kept his eyes on Butch the entire time, and Butch did the same. "B-Butch?" he started as he stumbled slightly. "W-What time did you go to bed?"

When he answered, he spoke in a rush, his words almost indistinguishable. If Brick hadn't been hyper aware of Butch then after being scared silly, he might have mistaken his sentence for a solitary word. 2 "Oh, Ididt got obed." Butch's expression remained constant, eyes wide with a monstrous grin.

Brick nodded slowly, trying to urge him to speak slower, "Okay… Why?"

3 "I dot knooh, Ijus couldt geta nesleep. Ijus satre an' talkedta Boomr' when'e wok'up."

Brick steadied himself against the wall again once he was standing, flexing his fingers as though he were going to summon another energy orb like he had in front of Blossom before, growing irritated when he didn't even get a spark for his efforts. He'd been thinking about what he'd said yesterday… or rather a few hours ago, and he was beginning to worry that he might have scared her more instead of convincing her everything was okay. He dropped his hand again and glanced around the room before turning back to Butch, "Well, where is Boomer now?"

4 "E' 'ent u'stairs toogit watr' boutto 'oursgo."

Brick's eyebrows creased with worry, "…And he hasn't come back down yet?"

Butch shook his head, "Naw-ah."

"And you haven't gone up to check on him?" Brick asked incredulously.

5 "Nawdude, Butrcp's upther, Imnt gon"

"Geez Butch, did your mouth fall asleep or something? I can barely understand you anymore."

Butch didn't respond as he swayed sleepily on his feet, almost falling over as Brick reached out to catch him, "Alright, well I'm gonna go try and find Boomer. You wanna come or are you gonna try and get some sleep?"

6 "Iges icom," Butch mumbled.

"…okay?" Brick hadn't quiet understood that last answer, but assumed Butch was going to help in his search sense he was still holding onto his shoulder to stop from falling over. Apparently Butch was one of those people who can't go without sleep.

Brick guided him up the stairs, holding the railing with the arm his brother wasn't clinging to, and pushed the door open slowly. He glanced around; it was obviously daytime, but as to what time exactly he had no idea. The room was brightly lit and smelled of coffee and cinnamon. Brick stepped through the doorway and rounded the corner into the kitchen to see Blossom sitting at the table with a glass of orange juice as she skimmed over the newspaper. Bubbles was over by the stove, dropping a few pieces of bread into the toaster. She noticed him first, glancing over her shoulder after she pressed down the lever, "Hey boys."

Blossom glanced up from her paper instantly looking to Brick first before her gaze drifted over the Butch who had practically fallen asleep on his shoulder, "Is Butch okay?"

Brick grimaced, noticing the drool dripping from his brother's mouth onto his shirt. "He didn't get much sleep," he answered quickly before remembering a more urgent matter. "Have you guys seen Boomer anyway?"

Blossom and Bubbles turned to each other with looks of evident confusion before returning their attention to Brick. "I haven't seen him sense last night," Blossom replied as Bubbles shook her head.

"Butch said something about him coming up for a glass of water a while ago, but I was still asleep," Brick offered.

"When did he come up?" Bubbles asked.

"A few hours ago? Butch was mumbling something about it earlier," he explained as he walked over to the table and sat Butch down in his usual seat. He noticed Blossom rise from her chair as he did.

"Do you know if Boomer gave the professor his watch too?" she asked as she dumped the remains of her drink in the sink and placed her glass in the dishwasher.

"I thought he did, but I don't know for sure," Brick replied as he slid Butch off his shoulder.

"Then we might be able to use the tracking device in the watch if it still works," she muttered quickly as she turned and headed towards the lab. "The professor said he'd be heading down to work as soon as you were up."

Brick's eyebrows knitted together for a brief moment, finding it annoying that no one had mentioned the tacking devices to him, but he decided against making an argument out of it. He followed Blossom down the hall with Bubbles right behind him. Blossom turned the handle and the door immediately flung open to reveal the professor, who instantly turned around and shut it behind him, pressing his back to it once he had. He had a strange grin on his face, clouded by a look of worry.

"Um…" Blossom mumbled, still recovering from the surprise, "P-Professor, did Boomer give you his watch?"

"Hmm?" The professor raised his eyebrows and thought for a moment, "Oh yes, the watches. Yes, he did. Why?"

"Well, we haven't seen him anywhere and we w-."

"Oh, that's because I sent him to the grocery store," the professor interrupted.

Brick's eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and annoyance. Grocery store?

"… wait, why would you send him to the grocery store?" Apparently Blossom had a similar feeling.

"Because we don't have any cat food!" the professor answered quickly.

They have a cat?

Before Blossom had a chance to ask anything else on the matter, the professor rushed back through the basement door, slamming it shut behind him, and once again startling the trio.

"Wait…The professor sent my beat up, powerless brother to the grocery store for cat food?" Brick asked Blossom in aggravation, clenching his fists. The more he thought, the more he worried; it would be just like Boomer to try to try to fly and get hit by a car or something when he couldn't.

Blossom held her hands up defensively, "Just calm down Brick. Me and Bubbles can go look for-."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already!" Brick practically yelled. "Bubbles _can't_ look for Boomer!"

"But you're doing alright today…" she added.

"Because I've been around you more than he's been with Bubbles!" Brick clenched his jaw as soon as he said this, suddenly feeling slightly self-conscience.

But Blossom didn't seem to notice, "Fine, sorry, I…" she stopped for some reason, her eyes growing wide, "Where's Buttercup?"

After a moment Brick realized what she was getting at and Bubbles seemed to understand as well. Butch was still in the kitchen… And if Buttercup walked in…

"I'll go check our room," Bubbles replied hastily, shooting over the railing and up to the second floor.

"She has to go. We can't have her and Butch in the same house while we're looking for Boomer," Brick insisted.

"_We_?" Blossom questioned, folding her arms together. Bubbles returned just then with Buttercup at her side, seeming oddly eager, "Bubbles said you wanted me?"

"Yes," Blossom confirmed, turning to her sister, "You and me are going out to find Boomer."

"All right," Buttercup cheered, pumping her fists, "I get to get outta the house!"

"Come on," Blossom persisted, lifting off the ground as if she were about to take off.

"Hey!" Brick yelled, grabbing Blossom's hand to stop her. She glanced around just in time to see his eyes flash, and he let go. "I'm coming with," he insisted, needing to shut his eyes a few times to make them dim.

"You're not serious!" Buttercup protested. "He's just gonna cause trouble for us."

Blossom didn't respond, just glaring back down at Brick, "Why should you come? It's not gonna do us any good to have you along."

"He's my brother," Brick muttered under his breath, subconsciously thinking to all the times Boomer had been in pain these last few days, his _first_ few days. "And he's my responsibility. I'm sorry Blossom, but I don't wanna have to trust my brother to you."

"Oh come on, "Buttercup whined, dropping her arms in exasperation. "He doesn't even have all of his powers back! How's he gonna fly? I'm not carrying him."

That was true; Brick was still weaker than usual, and it wouldn't surprise him if he couldn't fly, but he had an idea. He wasn't able to form an energy ball earlier on his own, but when he was near Blossom last night…

"Blossom?" he asked, holding his hand out to her.

But she shook her head, "I'm not carrying you either Brick, that's not a good idea."

"I don't want you to," he replied. "I just need your hand."

After a second, he realized this sounded all too familiar. Then it dawned on him; this was _exactly_ what happened last night. He'd grabbed her hand and showed her just how much power he still had. That was where he'd gotten his new theory from, however this brought up another question. What if she refused? She had every right to, after how out of control he'd seemed a few hours ago.

But to his relief, and great surprise, she reached out and grabbed his hand. As she did his eyes quickly heated up again, and he closed his lids so she wouldn't see the light, though he was sure she already knew they were glowing. His blood heated up, not quite in the same boiling frenzy it had before, but with a much weaker warmth from his fatigue. He burned, but not nearly as fiercely. And as always, that contact with his counterpart gave him strength. He needed to focus his energy, just as he had yesterday. He just needed to focus…

And his feet slowly lifted off the ground.

A smile crept onto his face, and he dared to open his eyes, feeling a sense of triumph when he saw Buttercup's jaw had fallen in shock. He released Blossom's hand, feeling confident that he would be able to fly on his own now that he had been given some help starting off. "I'm coming with," he insisted one last time.

Buttercup scowled back at him. "Fine," she snarled just before she took off. "Just don't slow us down."

She was gone in a second, and Brick turned back to Bubbles before he took off after her, "Look after Butch while we're gone?"

She nodded, "Of course."

He nodded back, turning back to where Buttercup had been, surprised to see that Blossom was still next to him. He was sure she would have gone off with Buttercup. But she just smiled when she saw he was ready to go and flew off just ahead of him.

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1. "Come on Brick. Up and at 'em. Rise and shine. Time to seize the day and all that yadda yadda."  
2. "Oh, I didn't go to bed."  
3. "I don't know, I just couldn't get any sleep. I just sat here and talked to Boomer when he woke up."  
4. "He went upstairs to get water about two hours ago."  
5. "No way Dude. Buttercup's up there. I'm not going"  
6. "I guess I'll come."

**Please vote and review so I can know what you think! ^^**


	25. Chapter 25: Groceries

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry this took so long for me to write; I hadn't realized it had been over two month since I last updated. I've mostly been writing ahead and proofreading old chapters, so I've been working on the story, just not posting anything… Anyway, here's that new chapter you've all been waiting for! Enjoy! ^^**

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Brick flew behind Blossom as she led the way. Buttercup was probably there by now; they were flying at a much more leisurely pace that usual. He was beginning to regret coming. He wasn't really too thrilled with flying to begin with, and the fact that he hadn't yet regained his powers in full didn't help; he was starting to feel lightheaded. Not only that, but Blossom seemed to be ignoring him just as she had before.

He glanced up to Blossom. She was flying away from him, so her face wasn't visible. Basically all he could see was her ginger hair fluttering in the wind. Wasn't she going to argue with him more?

He sighed in annoyance. She wasn't like this when they first met.

He thought back to when he'd brought her home after that dinosaur attack. When was that again… the day before yesterday? Two days ago?

Brick scowled to himself; he shouldn't have tried to prove himself to her last night. He'd gone about it the wrong way. He probably looked more frightening than anything, far from controlled. It was a stupid thing to do, looking back on it. What good did he think it would do anyway? How was _that_ suppose to make Blossom act less… un-Blossom-like?

And why did it bother him? There was no reason for it to. So Blossom was having a quiet spell, so what? Why should how she feels matter to him?

Brick's grimace slowly vanished and his features smoothed. She obviously seemed to care what became of him; didn't he owe her the same at least? For a brief moment, Brick relished in the realization that he may not be arguing with Blossom nearly as much now that her mood has changed. Was he actually _sad_ that she wasn't being quite so stubborn?

When he considered it, he actually thought he did. Whenever they argued he would dwell on it later, assuring himself that she was just being stubborn and stupid, but in actuality he enjoyed arguing to some extent. He was a leader after all; leaders argue. But why did he miss it now? Miss the disagreements, the clash of ideas he and Blossom often shared?

Brick grumbled to himself in irritation, noticing vaguely as they slowly descended. He followed quickly behind, landing in front of the store. Brick had been right; Buttercup _was_ already there.

"Ugh, you guys took forever!" she complained.

Blossom shrugged, "Let's just grab Boomer and get out of here."

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever." She stomped up to the automatic door which took longer than she would have liked to open: all of two seconds. She flew in instantly. Blossom rolled her eyes and followed behind her at a slower pace while Brick entered on foot.

"Gees, where's Blondie?" Buttercup muttered as she flew past the aisles, taking only a fleeting glance down each before moving to the next. Though they'd already been checked, Brick chose to peek through the aisles as well. Honestly, he wasn't really sure why he bothered; if Boomer was in one of the aisles they had already passed he would have been in plain sight.

He had just come to the end of the bread aisle when something grabbed onto his arm and yanked him onto the floor, causing him to fall rather painfully on his butt. He was about to lash out blindly behind him at the person who had pulled him down, but their hands tugged him behind a nearby canned soup display.

"Shh!" she hushed him when he opened his mouth to protest, immediately pressing her hands over his mouth.

Brick head started to swim and his heart ached. He turned slowly to see Blossom sitting behind him, her hands sliding away from his face. He glanced past her to see Boomer curled up in the far corner. He opened his mouth to speak,

"Shut up!"

When Buttercup appeared behind him.

"What're yo-?"

"Just shut up, alright?" Buttercup snapped. She was squatting down in front of him, her hand pressed against the wall for balance. She spun around to glare at him, making sure he wouldn't speak again, before facing back towards the dairy section.

Brick shook his head in annoyance and turned to Blossom, lowering his voice to less than a whisper, "What's going on?"

But she didn't answer at first, pressing her lips together and curving her eyebrows down.

"Just answer," he huffed.

She opened her mouth to speak as Boomer spoke the answer, "Mojo's here."

Brick shut down.

Mojo? Here!

"Princess and Fuzzy too," Blossom added as she nodded in response to Boomer's statement.

At the sounds of her voice, the gears in Brick's head began to start up again, but the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Fuzzy?" What kinda name was Fuzzy?

"Would guys just shut up!" Buttercup whispered back harshly. Her fury turned to uneasiness for a moment as she glared back at them before returning to its original state. "And do something about Mr. Headlights!" she ordered, gesturing at Brick, "They're gonna see us with all that glowing."

_Glowing?_

Brick turned to Blossom and Boomer, only now realizing that they were very much illuminated for hiding in the shadows of a food display. He held his hand up to his face, watching the light from his eyes dance on his palm.

"Here we go," he heard Buttercup mutter before the room went dark as she wrapped something over his face.

"Buttercup! What're you doing!" He protested, fighting the instinct to elbow her in the stomach.

"Quit moving!" she complained as she fussed with his hat. He tensed, not trusting his hearing over his eyesight. It made him more nervous, more timid.

He was thankful when Blossom spoke, "Where did you get that blindfold?"

"It's not a blindfold. It's a rag I swiped it from a janitor when he walked by."

Brick knew she couldn't see his face anymore than he could see hers, but he glared in Buttercup's general direction anyway out of habit. He just barely heard his brother's almost inaudible giggle and turned in his direction, "Shut up."

He heard his brother huff before going silent. He felt so helpless, only hearing sounds and voices without being able to see from where or whom they originated from. He barely had the courage to speak, and chose not to for some time.

"We quit!"

Princess?

"You're on your own!"

…and a hillbilly?

"Blossom?" he whispered, grabbing her attention, "What's going on?" Who was that other voice yelling with Princess? And didn't they say Mojo was here? Brick hadn't heard him speak yet.

"Aw, come on guys. We were so close the first time. And just wait until you see my newest creations!"

Never mind.

Brick could feel as Blossom leaned closer to whisper the answer to his question. Unlike Buttercup and Boomer, he could always sense when Blossom moved.

"Princess and Fuzzy are arguing with Mojo. It sounds like we walked in on a Beat Alls family reunion."

"But we're missing one," Buttercup added.

Brick was curious, "Who?"

"Did I say you could talk yet?" Buttercup snapped.

A sigh; Brick turned back to Blossom. "Him's not here," she answered.

"Don't you mean 'he's' not here?" Boomer asked.

"No, she means 'Him' Boomer," Brick reassured.

"Oh…"

Buttercup scooted farther back behind the display, falling into both Brick's and Blossom's laps roughly. Brick was about to yell at her for her clumsiness, but a hand quickly covered him mouth again, his eyes burning.

"Does it look like we care?"

Princess.

Brick continually clenched and unclenched his jaw as another hand pressed against his still blindfolded eyes; the light must be penetration the rag and judging by the sound of her voice Princess was right next to them.

"But with their help we can rule over Townsville! They are the most powerful, most supreme, most-"

"Can it monkey boy!"

Brick tensed, they were getting closer.

There was the clatter of metal cans behind him and he felt the table his back was against rock slightly. He leaned forward, away from it, and the hand that had been covering his mouth vanished. He felt as Blossom's arm moved past his face to the stack of soup, and the shaking stopped. He was afraid to move, hunched over Buttercup who was still lying on her back in their laps and below Blossom who was steadying the display. Luckily Mojo and Princess didn't seem to notice the puffs' and ruffs' near catastrophe as they continued to argue though it.

"We quit Mojo! This was a stupid idea! Him was right to stay home! Come one Fuzzy, let's go"

The clanking of Princess's heels ended the conversation, becoming more and more distant as she neared the exit, followed only halfway by the clatter of Mojo's boots.

"Fine! Go! See if I care! I shall rule the world with my new sons, and no one will stop me!"

… silence…

"Sir, that'll be $5.50," a stuffy voice sounded from down the aisle.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, there you are."

… the sound of quarters and dimes…

… the "ka-ching" of the cash register opening…

"Here's your receipt."

Paper tearing…

"Thank you."

… clop, clop, clop…

The automatic door…

… clop, clop, clop…

The door closing…

And…

Done.

At the very instant the door shut, all four super powered kids let out exasperated sighs of relief and went limp. Buttercup sagged even farther to the floor and rolled completely into Blossom's lap as Brick fell sideways onto the floor and Blossom collapsed onto his side. Brick removed the blindfold to see that he was now facing Boomer who looked as though he would fall face first onto the floor with relief.

"That was close…" Blossom sighed between breathes; she had slowed her breathing just as Brick and the others had out of fear. All four were panting.

Brick grinned, rolling over onto his back as Blossom sat up and leaned against the wall. "No kidding," he said as he played with the makeshift blindfold. "I believe this is yours Buttercup," he muttered before tossing it towards her, landing over her face.

They laughed as Buttercup whipped it off of her head instantly, "Whatever."

Then, out of nowhere, the display of soup cans finally fell to the floor, scattering around them.

Each of them groaned in unison.

"You youngsters are cleaning that up," the man called from behind the counter and the group let out another, louder groan.

"Alright," Blossom sighed, "Sorry Mr. Looper,"

"It's Cooper!"

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**Please vote and review so I can know what you think! ^^**


	26. Chapter 26: Temper

**Sorry for the wait guys (Again T.T) I still have a bad habbit or writing parts of the story that haven't happened yet, and I couldn't decide how I wanted this one to end for a while. And I've also been going back to old chapters more tryign to make the characters act more like themselves sense I didn't focus on that very much when I first started. Oh and speaking of when I first started, March 7th was "Can I Be You?"s 1 year anniversary ^^ I can't believe I've actually been working on the same story for so long. So anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter.**

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"I still say it's Boomer's fault," Buttercup muttered as they finally exited the shop after the _ever so fun and exciting _task of restacking the tower of soup cans. The remaining three followed behind her.

"You were the last one to move!" he protested just as the door slid shut behind them.

"I was not, you totally flinched and knocked into one of the legs."

"No I didn't!"

Brick just rolled his eyes as they continued to argue, both of them having chosen to stop walking just to yell at one another. There was something that had been bugging him before, when they were hiding behind the display, something he could no longer place. What was it…

"Well I know it wasn't me!" Buttercup shouted.

Brick stepped around the two as their argument continued, Boomer having just made one of his less impressive comebacks, and headed over to where Blossom was sitting on the bike rack. He leaned against the wall next to her, watching as Boomer and Buttercup bickered.

He found himself glancing at Blossom every so often, though her position never changed; one knee up, her cheek resting in her palm, staring with a blank expressing towards the other two. She asked him something after a moment, "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Brick muttered, surprised and confused, "Uh, yeah. I'm fine."

She glanced at him skeptically for a minute, analyzing his face, before facing forward again. Still so quiet…

Suddenly recalling the question he had been meaning to ask her earlier, he attempted to regain her attention, "So what was that about before? About a Beat Alls family reunion?"

She glanced up at him as he spoke, but stared off into space as she answered. "The Beat Alls were a group of 4 of our worse enemies. They didn't used to work together, but they united under the common want to get rid of us. You've met two of them before: Mojo and Princess?"

"And the other two?" he pressed.

"The third was Fuzzy, Fuzzy Lumpkinz? You've never met him, but you'd know him if you saw him."

"Please don't tell me that," he sighed with a smile, "The last time someone told me that I ended up beating them to a pulp."

Somehow that had earned him a smirk, "Well, he's a big pink furry, green-nosed, selfish, property-obsessed, banjo-playing hillbilly with antennas." She paused and watched as Brick nodded slowly, understanding why he wouldn't be able to fully picture this… "thing" without seeing it for himself.

She sighed, "And then there's Him."

Brick nodded; at least he'd seen a picture of Him before, so another description wouldn't be necessary.

There were more important things on his mind. "Are the Beat Alls still together?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, we managed to break them up a few years ago. But before that they were unstoppable."

"Are they close or anything? Do they keep in touch?"

"Kinda, it depends who you're talking about. Mojo and Princess have teamed up before. And I heard Mojo, Him, and Fuzzy still have their three-way phone calls every so often to talk about their newest plans. I guess Mojo's still pretty close with all of them…" It wasn't until he turned away that she continued, seeming skeptical, "Why do you ask?"

Strangely, he felt the need to futz with something in his hands and chose to readjust him cap. "Well, we obviously don't want Mojo to see you guys helping us out, so could it become a problem that Princess was there that one time we came with to help stop the bank robbery?"

Brick watched as Blossom eyes widened throughout his explanation. She covered her mouth with her hand, resting her head back into her palm. She shook her head a few times, "I really shouldn't have brought you guys with…"

"Look, would ya just get over it?" he blurted out. "Is it going to be a problem or not?"

"It could be," Blossom answered finally, hopping off the bike rack. "I defiantly could be. Princess is worse than a big mouth. She could let it slip at anytime. For all we know, Mojo might've found out already. Oh, this is bad…" she started pacing around, still holding her chin. Brick didn't bother saying anything, he wasn't sure what he could say. Then she stopped after a moment, eyes widening, and she glanced up at him.

"What?"

She didn't answer, but she continued to stare and her eyebrows would scrunch together in a look of obvious worry. It was then that he noticed a red light glint off her eyes just before she looked away.

He groaned, "Blossom, I told you I'm fine. Now what're you thinking?"

She sighed, dropping her hand and looking away again. "W-Would you… no," she shook her head, "I can't ask you to do this."

"Try me," he pressed.

She folded her arms across her chest, still refusing to look at him. She seemed oddly nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to another, "Well… last night we went to Mojo's lab and broke you guys out. Mojo must have noticed that by now, and he might get suspicious… Of course this is assuming Princess hasn't mentioned anything to him yet, but…"

Brick's heart sank. He was no longer listening to Blossom's reasoning; he knew what direction she was heading in.

He gulped, "Y-You want us to go back to Mojo." As he summarized her idea he could practically feel the blood drain from his face. Mojo? Go back to the psychotic monkey that had electrocuted them, stuffed them in cells, and tried – and failed – to steroid-zap them? He hadn't even regained all of his powers from that last one.

"I told you I couldn't ask you," she muttered, shaking her head. "But I don't know what else to do. Mojo's bound to think something's up if you don't come back."

"B-Big deal, we didn't come back yesterday," Brick pointed out, eager to find some way to reason around Blossom's observation; Mojo would suspect something.

"That's true," Blossom allowed, "But he let you leave that time and he knew you would be gone. This time we broke you out, so not only would you need to come up with an excuse for leaving, but you'll also need to explain how you got out without our help."

Brick bit his lip and turned back to Boomer and Buttercup, who were now in the process of yelling '_oh yeah?'_s and _'yeah'_s at each other. There had to be another option. Anything…

"I'm sorry Brick, but I think you have to," Blossom concluded.

Oh no. No. No. No.

"No way, me and my brother's are not going back there!" he snapped. Immediately after it was out he regretted it. He couldn't find it in himself to yell at Blossom before when she was like this; he couldn't even talk to her. There was just something about yelling at someone who barely says a word to you anymore that didn't seem right to him. And yelling at someone was not the right way to make them less afraid of you...

However, she surprised him by arguing back. "You have to!" she insisted, a defiant glare forming on her face. "If you don't it could ruin everything. I don't even know what you're going to tell Mojo when you get there, but he's going to want an explanation for how you got out!"

She was right; he knew she was, but he wasn't about to change his answer, "That's a great reason why we shouldn't go back! I don't know what to tell him!"

"Then figure it out!"

"Dammit…" He wasn't sure why it was – maybe because they were arguing and it got his blood pumping, maybe it was because he was angry – but for whatever reason this conversation was making him burn. He hadn't notice the pain at all before, but now it was at the point where it was much worse than what a usual conversation would trigger. He hadn't let himself get this so worked up since… well, since after his first simulator test with Blossom.

Brick turned away, biting his lip and keeping his eyes low.

"Well?"

Brick's eyes widened and he glanced back to see Blossom glaring at him with her arms folded together just as defiantly as ever, causing his eyebrows to furrow. She had been so timid a minute ago when his eyes were just barely glowing, and now she was acting as though she didn't notice at all. Why couldn't she care about this at the right times?

"We never asked for your help," he muttered, grinding his teeth.

"Yes, you did," she corrected him.

"Then let me specify," he said curtly. "We never asked you to break us out of Mojo's lab. You could've just left us there. Then maybe we wouldn't be having this problem!"

"You know you didn't want to be there!" she shouted back. "You don't even want to go back! And once he figures out you guys are missing, who do you think he's going to turn to! It's not like they're any other superheroes in this town!"

This was bad. He really was going crazy. Blossom's words were still screaming in his head long after she'd finished speaking. He could feel his fingers begin to flex, to form an energy beam, but he was already balling his hands into fists at that point. And his anger was just fanning the flames.

"So what if he does!" his eyes blazed. "So what if he finds out where we've been! What's the worst he can do to us! Make us go crazy? Make us kill you? What kind of threat is that to me?"

He needed to stop this; he was already mad and obviously Him's DNA was not only burning him alive, but also messing up his ability to think straight. Thinking over what he'd just barked out, he came to the conclusion that he was practically pmsing.

He groaned, returning his attention to Blossom because for one reason or another he felt he had one comment to make.

"My life would be a whole lot easier to live if you weren't here."

He knew he was pushing it; he had no idea how she would respond to that.

But this latest remark didn't seem to faze her at all. She stood her ground as calmly as ever, and in an even voice made one last remark that abruptly ended the conversation.

"If I weren't around, Mojo wouldn't have given you a life to live."

And with that Brick turned and stomped off back towards Boomer and Buttercup, praying that their diss fest was over and they could finally leave. But it was then that Brick noticed a small group hanging out by the far corner of the store. They seemed like your typical gang, one leaning up against the wall, another spraying it with graffiti. One of them looked like they had a can of soda. Whoever they were, they gave off a prominent aura of dropouts, coming in various shapes and sizes, from as big as a blimp to as small as a mouse. The five of them were all very different, but they all shared one common trait: they all had green skin.

The one that had been leaning against the wall pushed up into a standing position, flicked a toothpick from his mouth, and motioned for the other's to join him. Brick guessed he was in charge.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as they approached Buttercup and Boomer. Buttercup didn't seem to notice them at first, her back to them, while Boomer seemed somewhat confused. Buttercup detected the change in his mood and stopped arguing as the leader of the gang rested a hand on her shoulder.

_What's with that?_ Brick wondered, continuing to watch. It was then that the largest of the group stepped around Buttercup and came face to face with Boomer. Well, more like stomach to face, that is until he lifted Boomer up to his face by his shirt collar, dangling him an extra two or three feet of the ground.

"Hey!" Brick shouted, rushing over to his brother as he squirmed, attempting to break free from the colossal creature's grip. Boomer must not have all of his powers back yet…

"What do you think you're doing! Put him down!" Brick yelled up to the… would it be wrong to call him a kid?

Whatever he was, he turned and stared down a Brick, though Brick wasn't really sure he could see much of anything through those bangs.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled as he began to lowered Boomer.

"Hold it Billy."

The creature, Billy, stopped just as Boomer's feet almost touched the ground and raised him up again. Brick frowned and turned to the one who had ordered Billy otherwise.

The leader of the group, the one who had been standing next to Buttercup, stepped around Billy and over to him. "And who might yous' be, runt?" Brick hadn't made it a point to notice before, but this person was a good 6 inches taller than him.

"You tell 'Billy' to put my brother down!" He growled, pointing up at the beast of a boy.

The leader smirked, his black sunglasses seeming to gleam brighter, "Or what?"

"You'll have to answer to me."

Upon hearing his respond, the leader started laughing at him, "Hah! A little shrimp like you? What, yous' gonna step on my foot?"

"Step on your foot…" Brick muttered back. That was all it took. He was already energized enough from yelling at Blossom; he had more than enough power to blow this guy away. He flexed his fingers and once again, a sphere of red energy appeared in his palm.

This seemed to get the leader's attention; Brick could see the fear even from behind the black lenses of his glasses.

"Step on your foot?" he taunted back, a wicked grin appearing on his face. "I'll burn your whole leg off!"

The leader started backing away, palms out in surrender, "Heh heh, n-now now Shrimpy. Th-there's no need to be hasty or anything."

At that moment, Buttercup finally chose to respond and flew between the two, "Just who do you think you're messing with Brick?"

"Me!" he yelled, completely dumbfounded by her actions. "What are you doing? You think this is okay!" he gestured up to Boomer, who was still attempting to wiggle free from Billy's fist.

"These friends of yours Buttercup?" the leader asked, peering over her shoulder.

Brick and Buttercup both responded at the same time, "Hardly!"

This seemed to tick Buttercup off just that much more, causing her to glare back at Brick one last time before turning to the leader behind her again, "It's nothing Ace, they're just some nut jobs we had a run in with a few days ago. Hopefully if everything works out right they'll be gone in a day or two."

"So your names Ace then," Brick grumbled, catching his name. "So Ace, would you mind telling Billy over here to put down my brother already!"

"Yeah, yeah," the green leader huffed, "Hey Big Billy, yous' can drop off blonde."

Billy smiled. "Okay!" And with that Boomer was dropped ceremoniously onto the pavement. He groaned, rubbing his backside a few times.

"Alright," Brick said, striding away, "Let's get out of here!"

"Wait a second."

Brick stopped in his tracks and glared back toward the group of green-skinned gangsters to see that as well as Buttercup, Blossom was also talking with their leader. _Great_ he moaned to himself, _just great!_

He considered leaving and heading home on his own, trying to remember the way, when something Blossom said grabbed his attention.

"Ace, could you deliver a message to Mojo for me?"

Brick turned back to them just in time to see that grunt smile, "Sure, anythings for a friend of Buttercup's"

Before as said anything else she turned to Brick and, once seeing that he was still waiting for them, glowered before giving Ace her message.

"Tell Mojo, from the Rowdyruff Boys," she paused, waving a hand at both Brick and Boomer, "Which would be these two plus one more that chose to remain home today, that they have gone out to spy on us and learn whatever they can about us, the Powerpuff Girls, so they don't lose against us ever again. And they will be gone indefinably."

Brick was so astonished by this his mouth opened slightly without him realizing. After all that, Blossom had come up with a way to avoid him and his brothers returning to Mojo.

However, this only seemed to confuse Ace further, "So wait a second, yous' help'en these guys out and they's spying on yous'?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "No Ace. It's fine. We've got them taken care of. Just tell Mojo that the Rowdyruff Boys say 'hi' and they're on an extended Powerpuff hunting trip." She smiled to Blossom, "Nice going Red, I forgot about what Mojo might think."

Blossom merely nodded to her sister, showing no emotion, before heading over to join Brick. He wanted to thank her somehow, but he just wasn't finding the right words.

"You sure you still don't want me around?" she asked rhetorically as she walked past him, heading in the general direction of her house. He sighed; he _really_ messed up this time.

"What happened to you two?" Boomer asked as he approached with Buttercup behind him.

"Forget it," Blossom answered instantly without turning to face them. "Let's just go"

"Wow… congrats Brick," Buttercup muttered under her breath. "I don't know what you did, but you got Blossom talking again."

Brick didn't answer as he stepped around Buttercup and Boomer to watch as Blossom took to the skies.

"Um… Brick?" Boomer mumbled after no response.

Brick lifted off the ground without a word, flying slowly after Blossom, making sure to follow closely enough to not get lost but also not to catch up with her.

_I got Blossom talking again_, he thought to himself bitterly. _Whoop-de-do for me._

**Thanks for reading! Please review and vote for my poll if you'd like to read more! ^^**


	27. Hi Readers

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading "Can I Be You" I hate to disappoint you, but this isn't exactly your usual updated chapter. BUT PLEASE READ THIS ANYWAY.

I wasn't planning on doing this before, but after looking though some of my older chapters, I've decided to rewrite the story. There's nothing to worry about; most of the plot line will stay the same. I'd just like to go back and fix up some things about how I used to write a year ago and get the characters to sound more like themselves. And the most important part: the story's not gonna be all about Brick anymore. I'm sorry guys, Brick's awesome and all and he's my favorite Rowdyruff Boy, but I'm tired of writing form his point of view. And truthfully the story's not all about him anyway; the other characters do stuff too!

So to summarize my long explanation, I'm rewriting the story. Truthfully this shouldn't take too long since I've been going back and correcting stuff every now and again. But there will not be anymore updated chapters here. From now on new chapters will only be added to the revised version.

Do you have to reread the new version if you've read the old one already? No, you don't, and I understand if you don't want to; I've reread this story about 4 times already. Like I said before, most of the story will stay the same. Once something new that was not in the original draft is added to the story I will post one last update on this story so you guys will know when to start reading again. But since the point of view switches from the boys to the girls every chapter, some chapters may be new even though they're about something that already happened.

So if anyone has any other questions feel free to ask, I'd be happy to answer them.

And if not, you can find the newest version of "Can I Be You" under my stories.

Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing ^^ It really means a lot to me and you guys are the greatest.


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